Book 3: Fire
by xcgirl08
Summary: In the aftermath of Ba Sing Se's fall, everyone keeps moving forwards. And they keep moving forward because that is all they know how to do...in spite of the twists that the past likes to throw their way. Taang, Zutara, Sukka.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Avatar. That is all I have to say.**

Chapter 1

The throne room was a marble and tapestry monstrosity, carved with painstaking precision to echo and magnify whatever voice spoke into it.

A lecture hall, as it were, so that generations of leaders could hear the much-loved sound of their own ramblings. Thus, it was much harder for Zuko to escape Azula's own congratulations, as she stood beside him, a cold, deft hand resting on his shoulder.

He wanted desperately to shrug it off in disgust, but couldn't find the energy to do so.

"You've restored your **own** honor, Zuko. You chose wisely, down in the caves."

She bore a wicked, oily smile as she continued to speak.

"We've taken control of Ba Sing Se. We have elite soldiers under our command. With a bit of luck, the Avatar is dead, and our troubles are over."

Then, she leaned close, and with that smile in her voice, whispered, "Father will be proud."

Zuko shifted slightly, trying to shake off the strange dread that had been accumulating in his chest like bile.

What a silvery tongue she had: it was like listening to a serpent hissing into his ear.

Or maybe a dragon.

He remembered the dreams he had been plagued by, while he was delusional with fever. Zuko tried not the read terribly deep into whatever drabbles his mind came up with when he was asleep. But he did remember them.

He had seen himself, of all people, there on the Fire Lord's throne. Surrounded by flames, and soldiers who were as willing as their element to devour and destroy. Such power. Such satisfaction.

The blue dragon had whispered to him to rest, to sleep, and let go, as it snaked about in the hot air.

Of what?

Zuko had not asked.

_Azula always lies. Azula always lies…_

But there had been a red dragon as well, roaring at him to run, escape, and get out now. Whose voice had that been? The sounds were slightly less memorable. Then everything had fallen away into darkness and crumbled, like everything in his life always did, and the blue dragon had eyed him victoriously with flat, cruel amber orbs.

Like a hunter who had caught her prey…_ 'Zuko, help!'_

"Zuko!" came an agitated snap, which jerked him violently out of his head and back into the Earth King's (former King's, anyway,) throne room. Had Azula still been talking?

"Yes, Azula?" he replied dryly.

"Come. We have serious business to attend to. Maybe we can even get back to chasing your Avatar. That is, of course, if he isn't dead."

She turned with an assassin's silent grace and whisked herself away.

The girl down in the caves, the waterbender from the South Pole, what had she called the boy?

The world's last chance for peace, that was it.

With an unidentified weight resting somewhere in him, Zuko obediently followed.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

" OUCH!!"

" Aang, just hold still for a few precious seconds! All I want is to clean this out for you, so stop wiggling."

" Yeah, but it feels like you're rubbing the skin off it! It _hurts_!" The young boy, Katara had to admit, was handling the pain very well, considering the large burn that now fanned across his back. Good to see he had the moxie to protest and squirm.

The waterbender slipped another cool glove over her hands, and tried for the third time to erase the mark completely. It shrunk some, but didn't vanish.

" Amazing, though," she commented. "It's repaired a lot of itself."

Aang tried to turn around and observe the wound, but Katara persistently jerked him back into position.

"So, some psycho hit you with **lightning?** That's something to live through. Was it the spirit oasis water that healed it?"

Sokka had worked his way over to them across Appa's back, clinging to the huge bison's fur as they were jolted around on an air current.

Aang nodded as he remembered. Well, actually, truth be told, he didn't remember very much at all, except for seeing the bridge open up before his feet. And the pain as he was falling.

He remembered letting go and falling, but everything else was a blur right now.

" I guess it was Azula that hit him them, huh? I mean, if Scarface could shoot lightning, he'd have turned us into crisps a long time ago."

"Yeah, it was Azula. But Zuko was with her," Katara responded bitterly.

Her eyes narrowed at the thought of the Fire Nation prince.

That two faced, twisted, power-hungry _jerk_. And what was the real salt in the wound was that, for a short while, she had almost believed him. She had been so shockingly willing to forgive him there in the cave. When she had seen the years of confusion, anger, and hurt in the golden eyes as she laid a hand on the scar of his, she had felt nothing but compassion. That was what Mom had taught, right? To forgive everybody? She had wanted to believe him, really. To believe that evil could be transformed into good.

If even the Fire Nation's prince turned against the war, then there was hope.

And now there was none whatsoever. The last free kingdom on earth had fallen into the clutches of that firebending witch and her lapdog brother.

Katara resisted the urge to spit.

"So, where are we supposed to go now, huh? I told you these things never work out for our little gang." Toph had turned in their direction, glassy green eyes looking almost contemplative.

"Suki. We have to find Suki." Sokka assured firmly.

Aang sighed. Pulling one of Sokka's shirts on to shield his back from the whipping wind, his head popped from the large collar to say: "Sokka, I know you want to find her. But right now we have no idea were she and the other Kyoshi warriors are. I think we should find some place to stay for a while."

"Like where?! The Fire Nation is everywhere! We're fugitives from the whole stupid world, and you expect someone to just take us in?" Toph was clearly at the end of her short fuse.

Sokka ignored her, and had now turned on Aang with an accusatory finger.

" Of course you think that! Like you care about Suki or how I feel! You just want to look out for yourself because you're the Avatar!"

Aang looked like Sokka had struck him for a moment, but then his face hardened, and he shouted back hoarsely, "How can you say that? All I've ever done is try to..."

"Oh, SHADDUP the two of you! You sound like a pair of squabbling hog monkeys, you know that?"

"Well then you think of something, Little Miss Optimist... Instead of just sitting back and _criticizing _everybody!" Sokka was furious now, and Toph's eyes widened marginally at the edge his voice had.

Katara watched as her "family" started ripping itself into pieces. A soft sigh came from behind her, and she turned to face the dethroned monarch. He had curled up against Bosco like a lost little boy.

"This is all my doing."

Katara's shoulders slumped, not exactly in the mood to be giving pep talks, but she slid over beside him and tried to put on a good face.

It took a second to find the right words.

"Don't blame yourself, your Highness. It's the Fire Nation you should worry about right now."

"Don't address me that way. What am I king of, anymore? Call me by my real name: no one's done that since I was a boy."

Katara silently agreed. The decadent robes now looked extremely out of place on him, along with all the gold and precious stones garnishing his limbs. The Earth King spoke a second later,

"My name is Kuei."

"Oh."

That was really all Katara had to say.

A silence fell on everybody. Clearly Sokka, Aang and Toph had ended their fight in an exhausted draw, and everyone was sitting with their backs to each other and sour expressions on their faces.

Katara floundered for something to say, and briefly wondered where Appa was flying off to. His pace had slowed considerably, but they were still making a steady path across the night sky, unlit by stars that hid behind the clouds. _What are you going to do now, Katara? You've just lost__**. Lost**_ She met Aang's wide gray eyes momentarily, then looked down to busy herself with her mother's necklace. Something felt different between herself and the young airbender, but she couldn't place it.

"What happened to him?" Toph suddenly dared to inquire.

"Who?" Sokka asked, with more steel in his voice than he probably meant it to have.

"My friend. The uncle, the firebender."

Katara frowned once again. She actually had no idea what had become of Iron….Irang…..Iroh! That was it. Zuko had come to Azula's aid alone, and the last thing she had seen was the old man guarding her against the sibling's assaults.

" _Go! I'll hold them off as long as I can!" _

Katara's thoughts turned to the worst, knowing full well of Azula's heartless ways and Zuko's…well, he **had **really seemed to care about his uncle.

That time in the abandoned village had been shocking, to see him so distraught. "I don't know," the waterbender responded. "He's probably been imprisoned."

Toph hung her head.

Abruptly, the air bison came to a stop, and hovered in mid-air. Aang had pulled the reins tight, but sat quietly for a few moments while everyone looked at him. He shifted his gaze over to Toph, and then nodded as though to confirm something. Then he turned them around, and Appa began flying back.

"What are you doing?! The point is to get away from Ba Sing Se! Away is thhhaaat way!" Sokka gestured frantically, attempting to snatch the reins from the airbender's firm grip. They were going back into the belly of the beast?

Sokka shot Katara a help-me-out look.

"We can't just _abandon_ him. He helped us, and they're probably gonna kill him if we don't do something."

Aang's tone was resolved. There would be no convincing him otherwise, but Sokka would try.

"He's Fire Nation! What are we supposed to do, just swoop into the palace, break in past all the guards and demand him?"

Toph laughed. That was exactly what they had done not a week ago.

Aang looked back at the Water Tribe warrior. "I'm not leaving anyone else behind! I'm tired of having to abandon everybody and just run away like a coward!!"

"Yeah, but try and think logically, Aang. You're hurt, Katara's…"

"In," she interrupted.

"What? No way am I letting my little sister just waltz into some enemy fortress all by herself."

"Oh, she won't go by herself. I'm in too…. He is my friend, after all."

Toph was almost happy now. She always was, in anticipation of a life-threatening situation. "We'll need a plan. That's your job, right Meathead?"

"No! I'm not contributing to this kamikaze stupidity. You turn Appa around right now, forget about the old guy, and just let Azula…" Sokka paused, blinking, and realizing how cruel his words sounded

_What would Dad think? Would Dad ever leave someone behind? No, not in a million years._

Sokka looked over at his sister's large blue eyes. Darn it, she knew him inside out. Katara was smiling expectantly, awaiting what she knew his response would be. Sokka whacked his forehead and sighed in resignation.

"Alright, alright, how does this sound…"

**Hope you like it so far!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter. I felt so bad for Iroh after that episode…. Oh, and I don't own anything! You hear me? Nothing. Nada.**

Chapter 2

Twelve by eight. Not the smallest cell, but certainly not very roomy. Twelve paces long, eight paces wide. There was metal all around, of course: this cell was intended for earthbenders.

The little light from the door, and the small flame he held in his hand, revealed the rusted iron chains on the walls, the cracks that age had put in them. Several roach-rats fled from the revealing light, as it pierced through the dank dark.

Iroh tried to figure how high the dripping ceiling was, but it extended beyond his reach.

So now, he sat in the corner, flame snuffed out, wondering if the soft darkness would welcome him if he were to sink into it.

He blamed himself, really.

He hadn't done something right.

He hadn't tried to teach the boy, hadn't tried hard enough to reach through Zuko's barriers and bring out the good in him. He'd failed Lu Ten, and now he may as well have lost a second son. How could he have listened to Azula? The girl's power was almost frightening: he saw a more dangerous tyrant in her than his brother would ever be, and Iroh had watched his brother do countless terrible deeds. Destroy enemy villages on a whim. Execute any who spoke out against him. Burn his fourteen- year- old son and banish him on an impossible chase.

Yet Zuko had chosen Ozai.

With Iroh's pleas in his ears, Zuko had still chosen to side with his sister and gain a stale, poisonous sort of redemption. He had lost him, and Iroh feared he had lost him forever.

Tears hadn't come just yet. He was more in shock and disbelief than anything else. Iroh was worried about the young Avatar, as well, after seeing him fall out of the air, terribly wounded. He remembered the youth in the Avatar's eyes, the innocence and kind heart. After catching him in his fall, the water tribe girl had held the boy (Aang, was that his name?) with a desperation, looked out at Azula and Zuko as if to ask how the world could do such a thing to its "messiah."

And his thoughts returned to Zuko once again. Poor boy. Poor foolish boy. Iroh knew Ozai all too well, and he knew Zuko had been fooled completely.

Abruptly, the click of a solitary pair of boots striding down the dungeon halls interrupted him, and Iroh tried to make his face as expressionless as possible. A Dai Li agent appeared between the bars of the door and slide a tray under.

"Breakfast, old man."

"Why, how very kind of Azula to see to my needs. Is it morning already?" he said, voice chipper and dripping with sarcasm. The Dai Li snorted, but said nothing more. Iroh took a bite out of the bread and gagged.

"Why don't you just put **real **poison into this and get the job done quickly? My criticism to the chef." Iroh figured it was best to not let anyone know how worn down he felt at the moment.

The Dai Li man turned to leave. "Enjoy your meal. I'll tell your spindly little nephew you sent your blessings."

A jet of flame chased the earthbender down the hall, robes scorching. For a brief moment, the Dragon of the West smiled. Then, very tired, he sat back down, becoming an old uncle once again, and sighed.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko and sleep never had a very good relationship. It always came in flings of wonderful rest and calm, then bitterly withdrew from him or peppered his rests with lunacy. He had spent the better part of the night in luxurious quarters, far superior to anything he had slept on in over two years, tossing about like a fish.

_This is right! This is my choice and __**nobody else's**__! My destiny, my birthright, my reward!_ Over and over, the same thing. So how could the right choice feel so wrong? Shouldn't he feel some satisfaction? _Yes I should_ he thought, trying to arrange the Earth Kingdom robes he had thrown on. The peasant hair would have to go, or be fixed into something respectable by the time he was to be presented to Ozai.

_Father. He's your __father__. He's who you're trying to please, right?_

Zuko glared at his reflection, the gold eyes lined with exhaustion. He allowed his gaze to hover over his scar for a second longer than he would have liked, then tried to wash the thoughts away.

"No more of this," he asserted. His reflection cocked its head as he did, and looked back sternly at him. "You will be honored as a hero. You should be glad."

When no strange dragons tried to whisper into his ear, Zuko was satisfied, and stepped out into the long hallways.

It was amazing how unfamiliar a palace felt, after spending two years on a ship and wandering around the Earth Kingdom, and he was surprised by how long it took him to find the gods-forsaken dining hall. Several tries, passing old and ugly paintings a few times and opening more than a few doors, but eventually he opened the right one. Surprise, another massive room full of decoration. The table, meant to seat at least fifty men, was set for two.

And there was Azula, queen of it all, sitting at the head, her meal served and her hands folded patiently. She was in the midst of conversing with one of those robed puppets of the Earth King, and bits of the conversation fell on his ears.

"Yes, I've already sent word to your Lord father about.."

"Good. Did you request troops as well?"

"Yes, Lady Azula, just like you asked. Oh, and I mentioned the..."

"Ah, Zuko!" she shouted suddenly, waving the Dai Li away like she was brushing off a fly. "How are you this morning?"

"Hmmm," he responded, taking his seat and realizing he had very little appetite.

"Aren't you talkative? Well, you'll be glad to know that I've sent a message to Father of the success…and of your loyalty, of course. Perhaps you'd like to see him? Reunite with him? You must want to go home, after so long."

Zuko nodded. "Yes, I'd like that." _Would you? Really?_ His mind instantly snapped back. _Nice scar you have, nice gift from Daddy to thank him for…Shut up Shut up __**Shut up**_ He ground his teeth, and sipped the hot tea that was placed before him in a china cup.

His brow twitched slightly, and he resisted the urge to spit out the thin, vile liquid all over the silk tablecloth. He must have gotten spoiled, drinking uncle's "superior" tea for so long. This was an insult. No wonder all of Ba Sing Se had flocked into their shop, if this was the alternative….but then Zuko found himself thinking of Uncle Iroh, so he placed the tea down and didn't touch it again.

"…flying bison," he heard Azula say.

"What?"

Azula snorted. "Talking to you is like speaking to a wall. I said, 'We've had reports from several people who claimed to have seen a flying bison.'"

"Which way did they say it was going?"

"East, last that I've heard."

Zuko mulled over the information. "What, do you want me to go after him? I thought you said I didn't need the Avatar."

"Oh," Azula countered, seeming to enjoy her tea, "I know that. But it's best we keep an eye on him. If he's alive, he's still a threat."

Zuko's thoughts were confirmed. He was probably going to get sent out to find that little ragged band of peasants, while Azula got to play commander of the city and get all of Father's praise.

A moment of silence followed.

Zuko knew Azula enough to recognize that silence was a very bad thing, because it gave her time to think.

"Zuko," Azula finally asked, changing the subject, "Do you remember what Father told us about traitors? He said they were chinks in your armor. Best gotten rid of as soon as possible."

Zuko did remember his father's teachings: the scar that marred his face was a lesson he would never forget. He nodded, and rose from his chair as Azula did the same. They were headed back into the throne room, and he sprinted to the end of the hall to fall into step just behind her.

"Yes, I remember that. What is it?"

"And remember when he said that the finest under your command must undergo the most difficult tests?"

"In fire, gold is tested," he quoted absentmindedly. Where had he heard that, anyway?

Azula nodded in approval. "Excellent. So, I think you'll be happy to follow out father's orders that he has given me to relate to you."

Somewhere in the back of Zuko's head, alarms were beginning to go off, but he remained as placid as possible as he asked, "And what is it that he wishes me to do?"

"Just a small favor. To prove your loyalty to him. Can you do that?"

They had reached the throne room by now, and Azula had quickly sat down on the splendid seat of honor. Zuko was left standing before her, and she raised an eyebrow expectantly. Zuko bowed stiffly, not taking his eyes off of her.

"I am under the Fire Nation's will. I'll accept the task."

The delight in his younger sister's voice curdled his insides, but he assured himself that he would not make the same mistake twice by speaking out against his country. "Just what I'd hoped you'd say," she said lightly. Azula stood and ordered, "Dai Li! Bring in the prisoner."

Zuko figured he knew what was expected of him. His father had always compared him to Azula, so now he was going to have to prove himself as her equal. Equal in will and cold-bloodedness, anyway. He was going to play executioner. Maybe to that Long Feng character, or the Dai Li agent his uncle had wrung information out of. The Earth King generals? Perhaps even one of the Avatar's captured companions.

Still, somewhere in his mind, he knew something was very very wrong, and his body knew it. His blood was rushing already. He prayed, to whoever was listening, that Azula would not hear his hammering heartbeat over the sound of footsteps, as at least two dozen agents escorted a figure into the room.

Zuko saw the prisoner's face in the unnatural light, and tried to keep from becoming ill.

"So, Zuzu, how loyal are you, really?" Azula's voice floated in from a million miles away.

"Good to see you, nephew," his uncle greeted.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Oh, come on, you all saw that coming. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to all who reviewed. Read on… and remember that I am just a humble fan fiction writer who owns nothing but a pet turtle.**

Chapter 3

Under a cover of trees that the morning sun pierced in thick wedges, Sokka waved the parchment around to shake out all the dust that had accumulated in it. Aang sneezed, which hurt a considerable amount, and Katara eyed the scroll suspiciously.

"Hey, isn't that one of the ones you stole from the Library?"

"I borrowed it, thank you very much," Sokka sniffed, back to his old self. "I've been trying to figure out what it is, but now I think I know. It looks like the plans to a city, right?"

"Hey, I see it!" Toph exclaimed. Sokka grinned for a split second before the expression soured to a glare. Did she _have_ to do that? The earthbender laughed, and he continued, miffed.

"Well, the map says it's supposed to be 'Ba Sing Se'. But nothing in the city matches up with it, so I thought maybe it was, I dunno, a concept drawing or something. But then, I realized…"

"Oh! It's a map of the old city, the underground one," Kuei interrupted cheerfully, taking off the strange little glasses to examine it closer.

Sokka looked crestfallen. All his thunder was stolen now, unable to flaunt his genius, and he grumbled before Katara poked him.

"Well?" she asked. At least they were lucky enough to have this with them, of all the things Sokka could have grabbed.

"Well, as I was _saying_," and he snatched the map closer, "This right here looks like some kind of drainage system. It's been added on to, probably to keep the caverns down there from flooding. And it empties out just outside the Inner Wall."

"A sewer? You wanna sneak in through a sewer?" Toph couldn't resist adding commentary.

"Yes I do. I'll bet there are connections to the dungeons of the palace: right, your majesty?"

Kuei nodded, rubbing Bosco's head. "I remember sneaking down there with friends when I was younger. It's massive, though. It's like a labyrinth."

Sokka rolled up the map. "Well, it's our best bet. So all we have to do is find the piping, hope that it hasn't been blocked off, follow it for a couple miles under the city, and then find the guy, what's –his-name. And try to avoid the security."

Katara gave him a good, long stare.

Sokka shrugged.

"Oh, come on. We've done stupider things. And since you all feel like being foolhardy…"

"Oh no," Katara said, "It's perfect. I was just wondering who should go… NOT you, Aang!" She shouted over her shoulder. The boy was already beginning to volunteer when she did.

"What? Why not?"

"Why do you think? You're still recovering!"

Everyone agreed, much to Aang's dismay and in spite of his protests. Which left a certain waterbender and earthbender as the selected personnel for the job. _No surprise there_ Sokka thought

Aang patted Appa's shaggy head, trying to rouse the very tired bison from drifting off to sleep. "Come on, buddy. We gotta keep going."

And they were off again, as always doing the exact opposite of what any sane person would.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko stared. His uncle didn't look much different, except for maybe a few scuffs on his robe here and there. He obviously hadn't been harmed.

As of yet.

"Azula," he said flatly, "Do you expect me to believe that Father wants his own brother dead?"

Azula was examining her hand, a bored expression on her pale face. "He's a traitor. I told you he was. And Father said he was." _He also said that you're a failure, but I'll save that for later_. She smirked. "So get rid of him and be done with it."

Zuko was still shocked. Until he realized that, in the eyes of the Fire Nation, his uncle really was a traitor: turning on Zhao at the North Pole, aiding the Avatar, attacking Azula…but killing him, how could Father want that?

Catching her brother's eyes, Azula rolled her own.

"He's a traitor against our Nation, therefore he's a traitor against you. Come on, get it over with. Then Father will unquestionably welcome you."

It was the same persuasive tone that had charmed him before.

Zuko looked over at his uncle. "Uncle Iroh…" he began, sounding on the verge of a question. Or an apology. Whichever, Iroh broke in and stated calmly,

"Prince Zuko, you've made your choice. Do what you have to with me." His voice was flat and precise: it didn't tremble like the voice of someone awaiting execution.

What had Zuko chosen, anyway? _Power_ came to mind. _Wisely. I've chosen what is best for me._ But without warning, he was bombarded with memories.

Of his uncle, whom he was now supposed to kill, boarding the ship as Zuko began his life as an outcast.

"_Can't let you have all the fun, can I?"_

Of the little boy on whose shoulders the world rested, sitting beside him in the forest and looking at him inquisitively.

"_Do you think we could have been friends?"_

The same boy, in a land of ice and snow, hauling him over a shoulder, his voice sounding strange as Zuko slipped into unconsciousness.

"_If we leave him, he'll die."_

That girl, the healer who had helped his uncle after he had poisoned himself, sitting outside in the cool night air and revealing the burns that ran up her leg.

"_They've hurt me, too."_

The little boy, Lee, who had briefly idolized him, but had turned on him after finding out who he really was.

"_No! I hate you!"_

The waterbender down in the caves, sounding almost forgiving after she had snapped at him, the one whose mother had been killed by his country.

"_Maybe you could be free of it…"_

And his own mother, holding him for a moment, then slipping away with her words still ringing in his ears.

"_No matter what happens, __**never forget who you are**__!"_

Zuko was still unsure of exactly who he was or who he had become, but he knew that his mother would be ashamed of him now. A thousand voices, all roaring in his head at once in a tumult, and Zuko's answer fell into his head quite neatly: He had chosen what was best for the Fire Nation. The nation from which he had been exiled.

He had, in short, chosen wrong.

All the inner commotion, and all that Zuko managed to say, instead of something intelligent or eloquent, was "No."

Azula's eyes melted into amber slits. "What?"

"I said no. I won't do this. It's pointless."

Azula sighed, finally rising from the throne. "I knew it. Dai Li, arrest my brother and deal with him however you want. I'll take care of the old man myself."

Lightning crackled between her fingers as she strode forward.

What happened next happened so fast that Zuko himself could hardly remember it. It was as if something had seized control of his own body, kicking him aside and allowing him to be a spectator out of pure courtesy.

The Dai Li agents later recounted the tale in shock, as the Fire Princess had taken those few steps toward the bound man with ruthless intent written all over her face.

The boy had run forward with an inhuman speed, nothing more than a blur as he lunged.

He had seized his sister by the hand as the lightning left her body, tearing them both in the opposite direction.

Down the arm.

Into the stomach.

Never the heart, defense becoming an offense in one fluid motion.

And the lightning had exploded out of the boy's own hand, burning white with raw power into the mass of soldiers that had surrounded them both. The destruction charred the floor, set fire rampant over whatever the lightning touched, scarred the ceiling and brought chunks of it crashing down.

The thunder that followed nearly deafened all present, an enormous, earth-shaking BOOM.

For one moment, everything froze. Well, everything except for Zuko.

With a furious and wordless roar, Zuko flung his astonished sister away, enforcing the action with a tide of flame that she managed to muster the resolve to dodge.

"Uncle!" he shouted through the smoke and dust, "Uncle, where are you?"

Iroh burst through, now grinning irrepressibly at him as he watched his lost, second "son" come back to life with a bang. "That's my boy!" he laughed, sending an agent flying backwards. "That's my boy."

Zuko was preoccupied for the moment. Azula was back on her feet quickly, and a blue torrent of fire disturbed the air a few inches from his head.

"Father's right. You **are** a failure." She snarled in disgust, hurling another blow at him that seemed almost frantic. Zuko dissolved it, fire whips suddenly appearing in his hands that lifted into the air and cracked with a dusting of sparks.

Azula twisted aside as they came flying down.

But not quite fast enough.

And her vision exploded with color as she stumbled a few steps, clutching at the side of her face where the whip had just burned her.

"Come on, Prince Zuko! Let's go!". And, just her luck, it was the one time Zuko chose to listen. To escape from her once again. She heard Iroh's voice, but it sounded distorted through the other shouts. Azula was trying to blink back the searing pain and contain her fury for a few seconds more, but she could hear the two running now, and was screaming orders to no one.

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Prince Zuko," Iroh huffed as they ran, "That was the most reckless, foolish, dangerous…"

"Uncle, be quiet!"

"…and courageous thing I've ever seen a man do! You should have seen Azula's face! Oh, it was **priceless**!"

Zuko was just randomly turning corners, his feet about seven miles ahead of his train of thought, as the sounds of some very agitated Dai Li rang behind them. No, that was a dead end. No, no, no…he never thought these things through, just like Uncle had said.

Rounding another turn, Zuko barely missed a head-on collision with another solider, braking short and banking to the left. The man gaped at him, and then inhaled a breath to summon the hordes that were after them.

"They're he..."

He didn't get any farther, as Zuko slammed him square in the jaw and sent the poor solider spinning. Zuko snatched the sword that was clasped to the man's belt, swinging it once to test its weight. "Thanks," he said with a smirk.

_You're suicidal. You're insane. You're an idiot._ One part of him was berating the other as they continued to run.

But Zuko couldn't deny that he felt better than he had all day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey!** Thank you for all the reviews! Makes me happy. So, yeah, here's the next chapter. I just had to get Zuko away from Azula, even if it was totally expected. He's good, we all know it……I don't own Avatar, as cool as that would be. See ya.

Katara's nose curled at the overwhelming smell. It reminded her of decay and fields, medicine, skunk bears, death and maybe old perfume. Centuries of waste, all hitting her in one blow while she tried not to gag**_. So bad_**.

She felt even worse for Toph, who waded ahead of her, knee deep in the sludge of the large tunnel. The girl probably had a great sense of smell, but Katara knew better than to ask something so pointless right now.

She raised the torch slightly higher, turning to look back into the dark they'd come through. How long had they been walking? Felt like forever. Sokka had promised to wait and stand guard, although he had looked very near sleep, slurring his words as he did so. Aang and Appa had both surrendered to it, when she and Toph had left them. Katara rubbed her own eyes roughly to hold them open. At least the smell would keep her awake.

"Toph," Katara asked hoarsely, "Can you see alright?"

Knowing perfectly well what she meant, the blind girl nodded. "Oh, yeah. All the vibrations carry really well down in this tunnel. And through the water, too."

She lifted a bare foot out of the slimy gunk for emphasis, although Katara doubted that it could be rightfully called "water." She couldn't help but squirm at the idea of being barefoot in this stuff.

Toph sloshed over and put a hand on the wall of the drain, listening intently to something only she could hear. How did she feel the vibrations, anyway? Katara had always itched to ask her, but it may have been one of those things that were next to impossible to describe. Like trying to tell Toph was 'green' was. Again, an inappropriate question for the situation.

"Well, these are huge," Toph remarked, wiping off her hand on her shirt. "I don't know how much farther they'll go before we can't walk in them. I don't hear them narrowing or anything, at least."

Katara pulled out the map, realizing that they had no idea how to locate themselves on it. Oh well, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. She chewed her lip.

"I think we can…"

"Shhhhh!!!" the girl hissed back, much louder than Katara had spoken. She tried to hear something too, leaning forward into the dark, but it was a futile attempt. All she could hear was the soft, lazy flow of the water around their legs.

"What was it?" she finally inquired, when it seemed safe to.

"**Weird**, that's what it was. I thought I heard thunder or something. The tunnel splits up ahead, and it came from the left fork."

Thunder…lightning…Azula. Katara's grip on the torch tightened, and she allowed herself a violent little vision of what she'd love to give that despicable snake. Toph was hurtling away without hesitation, each step much surer than Katara's.

"You coming, Sugarqueen?"

"Coming."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko needed to pause for a second, to catch his breath and try to review his predicament. It was impossible to think right now, beyond what turn to take next, and with chaos boiling over their heads and behind them. Left, then right. Left again, or did he want to go right?

Well, they were headed down. Zuko knew that, at least. The stairway had looked inconspicuous and clear, so about a hundred steps and at least six guards later, here they were in the poorly lit catacombs.

"Uncle, I could use some help." It was a hybrid tone of plea and sarcasm, but Iroh replied seriously.

"We certainly don't want to go back to the dungeons, right? We're going to get cornered."

"I know that! What are we supposed to do now?" He pulled them both into a side tunnel, more crudely carved than the others, but it was partly concealed by the shadows and that was all he needed. He noted the odor: a ghastly combination of everything conceivable.

"Hmm…we could always just take them on, give them a good show…"

"_Uncle_…"

Iroh threw up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright, I see. Don't worry," (At which Zuko scoffed) "I'll think of something."

Zuko turned away and looked out the tunnel into the stone hall. Those shouts were coming their way, he was sure of it. Maybe the trail of scorches and cast-aside soldiers had been a poor idea as well.

"They'll be here any minute." He turned, to see his uncle's eyes brighten.

"Wait!" Iroh exclaimed, grabbing his nephew's sleeve. "Do you hear that?"

Zuko, as always, had very little time to listen. He was busy gawking at his own stupidity. _What had he been thinking? Why couldn't he, for once, make a decision that didn't end with someone's death?!_

"It's the sound of water. Running water!" his uncle exclaimed, to a question no one had asked. "There's a river under the city!"

Zuko's face scrunched up when a new waft of the pungent stink drifted his way. "So?"

"It must drain somewhere, don't you think? Down there is Old Ba Sing Se. Maybe we can catch a ride out."

"Oh, please. Don't tell me that's our best option."

"That," came his answer, as the voice's owner rushed away, "Is our best option."

There was a quick puff of flame as Zuko vented, but he descended into the dark on his uncle's heels. Rocks skittered out from underneath his feet, giving his run a sort of stumble as the decline steepened. Until his heel hit a mud slick, knocking Iroh down in the process, and he deserted all hope of getting out of this in one piece.

Nephew and uncle both landed in a disorganized heap about fifty painful feet later, making an inconveniently large splash in some watery slop as they did.

"Everything intact?"

Zuko forced himself up, now soaked to the bone. "For the moment."

It would be a very short moment. A voice wailed down to them from the dungeons, "There they go! Into the drains!"

Which was when a gigantic tremor jerked them off their feet, and the tunnels around them began to crumble and collapse.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

"Now **that** I heard."

Katara had a good grip on Toph as the pair ducked out of the way, with the low ceiling splitting and cracking with every shattering crash. The sludge it was splashing up, threatened to extinguish what little light Katara had from her torch: that was the only thing she could think of that would make the case worse.

_Don't panic_, she ordered herself. It was a daunting task, but Katara pulled herself away from the edge of hysteria, if only for Toph's sake.

"We have to get out of here NOW!"

"Thanks for telling me! I **never** would have guessed!" the short little girl replied gruffly.

"Why is it caving in?! Can you see a way out?"

"I can hardly see the ground in front of me! There are too many vibrations to feel anything right!" A clump of stone fell and divided them, and Katara groped until she found the small, rough hand once again.

_Stay calm stay calm stay calm…._ The tunnels shook, harder than the previous shocks, and a huge piece of the framework twisted out of place directly over the two of them.

Katara didn't need to think: she simply acted, and considered it in retrospect. In these situations, she was ruled more by instinct than calculation or reason.

Casting aside the torch with a rush of steam as the water consumed it, Katara dove forward, clutching Toph roughly and curling around her as debris continued to fall. As though she were pulling a huge blanket over them, Katara's arm swept, and a wave of the sludgy water (water nonetheless) followed, crystallizing as it came.

The last of the rocks bounced harmlessly off the ice dome covering the girls, and it dissolved into water a second later.

Toph was still a bit rattled by that. And now Katara couldn't see anything either.

……………………………………………………………………………………

Azula was beyond anger. **Far** beyond. She was a woman possessed, shouting until her voice was nearly gone, eyes burning, and one spidery hand still over her face.

"Keep at that! Crush them both; I don't care if you have to collapse the whole foundation!!" The earthbenders stared at the seething princess, completely undone from her composed self. They continued sending the pulses through the dungeon floor.

How dare he? Zuko, running away like always, reducing himself to a sewer rat.

Once they were killed, Azula determined that she would personally dig up their bones and bring them to Ozai on a necklace. A necklace. Those backstabbers were an affront to the royal name.

Unable to do anything else, Azula kept on screaming and riling the Dai Li, intent on burying her older brother and uncle alive.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Iroh and Zuko had barely avoided the collapses themselves, weaving and ducking. How much longer could they keep this up?

"Zuko," Iroh shouted breathlessly over the rumbling, "Thank you."

"For what?" The young man shouted back, brandishing his handful of fire at the dark in front of them. His steely voice bounced a haphazard path down the pipes.

"Your choice, nephew. You were listening to something after all."

"There's no time for proverbs right now."

"Proverbs?! I'm just glad you didn't kill me! Whew, I was nervous for a moment back there." He pushed Zuko out of the way as a piece of iron tumbled down. "But did you realize that if you hadn't redirected that lightning properly, it would have killed you? And in a most unpleasant way, I must add."

The firelight gave Zuko a haunted look. "It crossed my mind."

And then another splash reached their ears, over the pounding of the earthbenders far overhead. Nothing unusual.

Except for the fact that it was followed by a string of curses.

………………………………………………………………………………………

"I didn't know you could talk like that," Katara stated, bewildered at the "colorful" language that had just spewed from the twelve-year-old's mouth.

"You pick up stuff….wait, hold on." An arm came out and blocked Katara from stepping any further. Standing still in the complete blackness, Katara felt helpless and even more frantic than before. Now what was wrong? Toph was probably too distracted by the pounding of her heart, Katara thought, angry at her lack of composure. No, now what was….?

The softest touch of a golden glow could be made out far ahead, just beyond were the tunnel twisted sharply. Go to it or avoid it? Was there any chance of saving that guy now? Katara turned to pull Toph along when the girl screamed.

She couldn't see anything, but it was easy enough to hear the entire section they had just run through caving in.

An arm brushed against her, rushing forcefully outward. There was a sound like the stones being crushed together and molded into a solid block, crunching like they were caught in a vice.

"That'll hold it up for now! Go!" Toph ordered.

Katara needed no second bidding, now leading the way in the only direction they could go. The light was staying in the same place. Were those voices that she heard?

Flying on her feet, the waterbender rounded the corner with far more momentum than she had figured possible, hand over her pouch and ready to take on whatever was waiting there.

Which happened to be, to her utter astonishment, the very man she and Toph had come to rescue.

Oh, and a very agitated Price Zuko.

**Hmm…another expected turn. But I'm having fun anyway, so what the heck. As for where this story is going, I just have one thing to comment on. (Anybody reading this???) The relationships to develop much later in this story (along with what I hope will be generous butt-whooping)…whaddaya think they ought to be? I know what they'll end up as, but was wondering what everybody thinks.**

**Thanks for reading!! And have a happy holiday, if I don't update again before then.**


	5. Chapter 5

It's me again. And, **WOW**! The reviews! I'm so glad everybody likes this …the sad thing is that none of my friends like Avatar, so I can't spread the joy. Ah well. Here's number 5. I'm thinking that I could start naming the chapters. Maybe. **Disclaimer**: I don't own any of this. Avatar is the property of Nick, those lucky people.

Chapter 5

"Azula! Azula!"

The voice managed to reach her through all the uproar, sunny and light as air. Azula turned to see Ty Lee bounding towards her, Mai coming regally behind with slightly raised brows.

She had to blow out a lung's worth of her anger in order to speak coherently. To come back down into a reasonable state of mind. She had lost control of the situation and herself: and she hated losing control.

"Azula, what happened? Are you alright? Why're you holding your face like that?"

No sooner had the questions bubbled from the girl's mouth then Azula fixed her in a glare, and reported. "My brother changed his mind again, it would appear. Where were you two?!" She brushed Ty Lee's inquisitive hand away from the right side of her face. _Should have waited a bit longer before asking him to do that, let him anticipate his homecoming…but uncle's poisoned his brain, I was too late to prevent that, he's the one at fault here. Fool._

Mai answered in her usual flat, bored tone. "Doing what you asked: rooting out all the rebels in the city. Amazing how many little convoys they have out there. Where is Zuko now?"

"Crushed, with any luck." Azula turned to the score of earthbenders, now looking slightly fatigued behind their stone expressions. Deep craters littered the dungeon floor, the tunnel Iroh and Zuko had presumably taken now blocked off, and they had just moments ago heard the distinctive sound of the passage giving way. Azula's face slowly returned to its former, cold porcelain tranquility, and she lowered the protective hand to brush her disheveled hair back into place. _Then again, Zuko is far luckier than Father makes him out to be._

Ty Lee gasped softly. Even Mai's mask slid slightly as they got a good luck at Azula's face. It was still fresh and red, a small mark, really. A faint, perfectly straight burn where the whip had pecked her. But it was still a shock to behold, and Ty Lee was nudged aside as Azula walked past.

"Azula, what…"

"A present from my dear brother to remember him by. He was in quite a temper when he left."

Azula fingered the mark, inwardly wincing as she did. She thought it over as all eyes were upon her.

"Dai Li, I want you to search the city, above and below it." She and her warriors turned to go, and her voice rang back at them. "If you find anyone, bring them to me."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"YOU!" Katara roared, unconsciously rooting herself into a fighting stance.

Zuko looked no less shocked and angered, but a bit more unsure of how to respond to the Water Tribe girl now facing him, with the smaller, dark haired girl standing in front of her. His hip moved the barest inch to step forward, intent on simply shoving her aside and escaping, but the Avatar's waterbender saw it. And acted on it.

_WHAP!_

The blow was a stunning one, mostly because he had not anticipated the thin, agile whip of water planting itself across his face and knocking him back a few paces.

"You backwards little peasant," he spat, a red welt blooming on his pale cheek. The fire in his hand leapt in height, and the two may very well have settled their differences then and there, had something not interfered. A certain pale-eyed someone.

"Hi .Good to see you're okay…again."

Zuko squinted at the little girl, and realized that she was addressing his uncle, who sidled around him.

"Ah, I'm very fortunate. What brings you here?" He spoke as though oblivious to the warriors ready to tear each other in two, and the quarter mile of earth ready to come down around their ears.

"We came back to…"

"TOPH! We have to keep going!"

"Yeah, I think I got that the first five times you said it!"

"You're not going anywhere, you…" Zuko attempted another step towards them, and a dagger of ice shot at his feet. He was ready this time, and narrowly avoided having his foot impaled.

"**Stay back**."

"Like I would benefit from killing you now, peasant."

"Oh, and would you have benefited from it before?"

"Hey, now who's wasting time?!" Toph snapped, running her fingers over the wall yet again. "That block I put up won't hold for long."

Hoping to kill Zuko with a glare, Katara turned her attention on getting out of here alive. She grabbed the man's, Iroh's, sleeve and pulled him after Toph, trying to quick step through the increasingly blocked tunnel.

"Come on, Aang won't leave if we don't have you."

"Very considerate of him…Zuko!" The boy way still standing were he had been before.

"Katara, this way! Come on, I think I can see something!" The earthbender's voice was disturbingly far off, but Iroh wouldn't budge. Neither would Zuko.

"Uncle, go! I'll be fine!" He would almost rather deal with Azula than allow himself to be helped by the Avatar's cronies. If only his uncle would be reasonable…should he him go with them at all? No, he didn't trust them either. He realized that his uncle was also staying behind, staring at him while their (possibly only) hope of escape shrunk out of sight.

Expecting a lengthy speech about choice, Zuko watched as Iroh simply folded his arms and planted his feet, motioning Katara to catch up with Toph. _Well then, nephew, we can die as stubborn fools together, because I'm not going anywhere. _Zuko read it in the man's eyes as clearly as if he had said it.

And that spoke volumes more.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Here, right here overhead, there's no more palace! We're out from under the foundation now!"

Katara looked up at nothing. A crack appeared and crawled over the surface of the ceiling, and she felt her heart rate jump again. No opening, great. Toph's words reflected her thoughts exactly.

"Huh, no exits or anything. Guess we'll have to make our own."

Katara took that as an invitation to get out of the way. And there was Iroh, close behind her, with Zuko in reluctant tow…. "Stay there!" she cried, holding an arm out to enforce the command.

Toph backed up, sliding into a stance that looked just as stubborn and solid as she was, until her back brushed the wall. Eyes narrowed in concentration for just a moment. Her hands clenched, and Toph Bei Fong threw her entire body forward in a lunging first step, fist jerking out like she was punching through a wall.

The impact was incredible on the first blow, a huge hole now carved in the rock to the side of the tunnel. And she kept at it, the same move again, again, again and again, the expression of concentration never leaving her face as she pushed the stone back further and further towards the surface. The shockwaves it was sending out didn't aid the situation much, and Katara's ears whined at the thunderous pounding.

"Huh," Toph grunted, and turned all her focus upon the earth above them. _Move, you. You are an extension of my will, and you'll do what I say! Come on!_ With one last exertive motion, Toph threw the weight off her shoulders, and a very dim and watery light spilled into the tunnel.

She immediately scrambled forward to climb up, digging her hands and feet into the rock as she went…until remembering her friends, of course.

"I dunno if it's too steep to climb, Katara!" She called, leaping nimbly down again and feeling the sides.

Katara considered. "That's okay. We don't have to."

She twisted her body, gathering the water in a whirl around her as her arms danced in a circle, calling over the increasing rush, " Grab onto me and don't let go!"

She grabbed Toph in by the scruff of the neck, who seized Iroh by his torn sleeve, who had Zuko's arm in an iron grip that he was trying to wriggle out of.

" What is she…"

Zuko's answer came soon enough. Katara tensed her entire body, crouching, and the tight column of water around her dispersed…. then she sprang like an arrow loosed from it's bow, water propelling them as they soared up the tunnel the earthbender had just carved out, riding the plume of water all the way.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

The man had been quite satisfied by how business was going that day, really he had. He'd been a good citizen and minded his own business when the Dai Li had come by, led by two strange looking girls. He had sold a whole basket of his produce that morning, and his money pouch was satisfactorily full. The sound of the money brought a grin to his face.

Yes, it had all been going so well, until the ground had started to shake.Right under his feet! Bang, bang, bang, like someone pounding on a door, the cobbled street feeling every blow. A stone popped loose with one of the tremors, then another, and another…..

"Move! It's an earthquake!" A passerby roared, snatching the merchant's hand to pull him to safety.

"Wait, I can't just…"

CRASH!

The earth did not just break open: it **exploded** open, as though a hammer from below had knocked it free. Right…under…his…stand. The cart was blasted to bits by the flying earth as it burst from the hole that had now formed. The entire marketplace was agape; the more daring even stepping forward to have a look while the remnants of his wagon came down along with the rock bits and dust.

The merchant didn't care about anything else: he was stumbling all over the place to collect the vegetables that were rolling away.

"What's that noise?" a boy asked. The merchant's mouth went sour with fear.

It sounded like a typhoon, a rushing of water, and everyone turned to flee again. Whatever demon was about to bear its head from that cavern, they had no interest in meeting head on.

And, like a geyser, a tower of water shot from the hole, a huge wave that had…yes, it was! _People_ atop it! The merchant's eyes widened and the fist of water came rushing down, sweeping him off his feet. The four rode to the ground, coming to rest in the ruins of the marketplace and squinting in the sunlight.

"Come on," one of the people shouted to her companions, "That'll probably attract some attention!"

"M-m-m-m-my…" the merchant tried to sputter. A soggy, green, ruined object drifted by, and he clutched it, in a stupor for a few seconds more as he watched those awful, familiar people hurry away. Then the rest of the water rained down on him, and he found his voice, practically tearing his hair out.

"**MY CABBAGGES!!!!!!" **

**A/N: Ahh, but what is Avatar without Cabbage Man? I got lucky and found some time to write this one. Oh, and don't worry. There'll be plenty of Aang and Sokka in the next chapter; sorry if this is moving slow, I'm trying to pace it. Reviews are good for soul!! Thanks! **


	6. Chapter 6

Well, chapter 6 y'all. I can't wait for the real Season Three, which FYI, IS SET TO AIR (AS OF NOW) ON **MARCH 16th. **So I have all winter to live in my own little fantasy world. P. S: Nothing is mine. I just like to mix it up with my own drabble.

Chapter 6

"Fire! Ha!" Sokka shouted, opening his fist and wriggling his fingers with a wide grin.

"Water," Aang said simultaneously, making a wave with his hands. "I win again."

"You're cheating! That's the fifth time!"

"How am I supposed to cheat at this?"

Sokka looked sullenly at him, not sure of how to respond. How _was _one to cheat at this?

"So, water beats fire, earth beats water, and fire beats earth?"

"No, wait, fire doesn't beat earth…and why would earth beat water?"

"I dunno, I guess it would just make a big mud slide or something. Does fire beat anything?"

"Why isn't there 'air'? I know air beats _everything_," Aang concluded.

Both looked down at their hands, quickly growing bored with the distraction. What was the combination again? Neither of them could remember, but Sokka was sure that Toph and his sister would love the water vs. earth debate. And so they ended the game, to return to waiting: It wasn't terribly exciting. Sokka had tried to study the irony of the situation. The women, going off to fight, and the men staying behind, too weak or busy babysitting to come along.

They had touched down near the cavernous stone mouth of the tunnel, well hidden amidst the brush. Flying over the Outer Wall, Sokka's expectations had proved correct: no guards. What did they need them for now? The city had already been overthrown. And by three teenage girls, no less. Impenetrable wall, yeah right. It did you no good when you were protected by a bunch of double-crossers and led by an oblivious, (though well-intentioned) puppet.

Katara and Toph still hadn't returned, which wasn't too surprising. But both boys were getting antsy as the sun climbed into the sky, to reach midday height. Sokka squinted up at it and made a note to himself, using his thumb to mark out its future position. _If they're not back in another hour, we're going in after them. No question about that._

"I hope they're okay," Aang mused aloud.

"Aang, if it's one thing we've seen, it's that Katara and Toph can take care of themselves." _Well then, why so worried, Sokka? Just for the fun of it?_

Aang shrugged at that, frustrated at being unable to help somehow.He picked himself up tiredly, and shuffled over to where Appa, Kuei, Momo and Bosco were still snoozing. You had to envy the blissful expressions on their faces. As for him, he had too much rattling around in his brain to get any decent rest.

He felt so odd, for some reason. Oh, he was acting completely normal, and Katara had carefully bandaged his torso: wrapped the bindings so neatly and meticulously that he was almost afraid to mess them up. It hardly hurt now. But that was the thing.

As Katara had patched him up, there had been nothing: no rush of his heart with their proximity, no red creeping onto his young face, no music woven into her straightforward, kind voice. It wasn't that he didn't want to feel it. But it was as though that part of him had been cut away altogether, a piece of a puzzle that was missing. Did that mean his final chakra was opened? Guru Pahtik had said that he wouldn't be able to go into the Avatar State at all if he left then, and Aang hadn't even tried to since down in the cavern. He didn't feel very fulfilled or empowered. Still very small and very confused. Things were never easy…

"Aang?"

The airbender jerked, shooting a few feet skywards with a breath of wind under him.

"Huh?"

"You okay? You've been frowning at that squirrel-munk for a while."

Aang noticed the little creature observing him from the foot of a tree. It chattered reprehensively.

"Mm. I was just thinking."

"Yeeeaaahhh, okay…" Sokka kept his gaze alternating between the rodent and the boy, and let his concern for Aang override his hunger for the moment. "You don't sound okay, I hope you know. You're a pretty bad liar."

Aang looked back at the warrior. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

This, like to anyone rational, was Sokka's confirmation that something heavy was weighing on Aang's mind. Not just the whole 'saving-the-world' deal, either. Sokka sighed deeply: these touchy-feely things were more Katara's specialty, but he would give it a go.

"Well, I didn't really apologize for what I said before, I guess. I was just so upset about Suki and having to leave Dad, that I just…"

"No, that's not it, really. I kinda forgot about that, to be honest."

"Oh. Well, sorry anyway."

Sokka flopped onto his back in the spring grass, thoughts back on Suki and Hakoda, where they had been circling before. Go find Suki, or go help Dad? Was Suki looking for him? Did the Fire Nation know that Dad was coming? What should he do with them all, now? He was the warrior here. He had to look out for everybody: so where was he supposed to take his mismatched 'family'? _I guess we could go to the North Pole again, or back to…but then the Fire Nation will just follow us like they always do, and we'll be responsible for it. Oh, and did I forget that our one chance to beat the Fire Lord is only six moons away? Silly Sokka, of course it is! And Aang still needs to master firebending! Good luck getting a teacher! _ The only thing Sokka was getting was a throbbing headache.

"Sokka?"

Sokka looked back over at the twelve-year old who was really 112. And **definitely** bothered by something, no matter what he said.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about love?"

_That_ was really something Sokka hadn't been anticipating. Well, to be serious, he had ( in the far, far, far caverns of his mind) been planning a talk of this context, considering the sugary puppy love affection he could tell Aang harbored for his little sister. What he had been completely surprised by was how sad Aang had looked when he asked him. How to answer that question, anyway? And why was he asking him, Sokka, The Meat and Sarcasm Guy? He wasn't 'Sokka of the Sage Advice', exactly.

"Umm…"

Sokka was interrupted, or maybe saved, when Appa's saucer eyes snapped open with a snort, and he shook his massive head about frantically.

"Appa, what is…whoa!"

The bison was suddenly desperate to get into the air, practically throwing the surprised company onto his back and leaving the earth with a burst, his friend trying to grab the reins in the confusion as Kuei awoke and yelped.

"Aang, what's wrong with him?!"

But Aang had figured it out by now, a dread now solidly formed in him, and his feelings matched the bison's. He gave him a nudge. They flew faster.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When the waterbender had pulled the curious thing from the fold of her shirt, Zuko had been perplexed. What was it? Not as though he had time to ask: an entire battalion of soldiers out patrolling the streets had caught sight of them, with explicit orders to carry out, and Zuko was unsurprised to find out that the only plan was to run.

Turning down a side street, the water girl's face had sparked, and she had breathed something inaudible to the short little one with the strange eyes. Nodding, she had whipped out the bizarre object, carved in the shape of some kind of animal, and pressed it to her lips.

_Pfffftt._

It was pathetic, especially considering how hard the girl seemed to be blowing. To add to it, she kept exuding enormous puffs of air, only to get the same sputtering sound. And he was following these two around?

"Uncle, I think its best we leave them now…"

His uncle had his energy focused elsewhere. Iroh had waved the pale-eyed one off somewhere, and now turned to face his pursuers. The Dragon of the West had struck a fighting stance in the middle of the narrow corridor, and wore a smile on his face as always.

One solider, unadorned in Dai Li robes, slid his sword out and charged forward, looking forward to an easy kill. Zuko moved to do the same. _What is he…?_

Iroh beat him to it, and quickly disillusioned the soldiers. A stream of flame burst from his hands, followed by a precise jet of it roaring from between his grinning teeth. Now with shocked expressions, the fires drove the whole band back and out into the street with garments ablaze.

They weren't secure for long, as the surface bucked them off, a wave traveling under the stone and knocking the men to the ground. With a dull thud, they were all slammed under the road tiles, folded over them like cards, and the little earthbender leapt from the dust triumphantly.

Another _pffff_ from near his shoulder.

"Peasant, whatever your purpose is…"

"DOWN!!!" the girl screamed hoarsely, looking behind him with wide eyes.

Zuko somehow knew better than to protest, for once. He bent, ducking as he heard the distinct sound of an arrow screeching over him by a few inches, with the girl in its path. A whip of water sang through the air, neatly cleaving the shaft in two, and it deviated from its course.

No, he had not just let that water peasant save him…

"Toph! Iroh! Hurry up!"

She turned without looking back, still devoted to that thing (was it a whistle?) and grabbing the drain pipe of a building. "Climb it! Or else they won't be able to find us!"

"Least of our problems, Sugarqueen," the one called Toph responded, running to scrabble up the wall to the roofs.

"Prince Zuko!"

"In a moment," he called back to his uncle, knowing that going up on the roofs was a foolish thing to do. Maybe not quite as foolish as what **he** was about to do, but it was a close match.

The soldiers, accompanied by the Dai Li that were everywhere in this horrid city, were pouring in after the four only to find a boy with a drawn blade waiting for them. The other three? Up on top of the buildings. One of the soldiers pointed at them frantically, barking orders to his archers.

"Shoot them down!! Shoot them…"

A sword swipe nearly took off the man's right ear, and effectively shut him up.

Zuko made to strike again, but the blow was parried by a long metal javelin that rushed up to meet it and it jabbed out at him a moment later.

The Earth Kingdom solider had thrown off the blade he had locked with, and plunged his weight forward in an attempt to skewer the scarred boy and be done with it.

Zuko chose to leap right, seizing an opening and cutting a mean gash in the soldier's side, shoving him away to meet the next warrior's onslaught.

Zuko weighed the circumstances as he did. Too many of them, only one sword, and his escape cut off, his uncle's voice ranting at him from somewhere over his head.

"He's overwhelmed," Iroh stated obviously, as they dodged a hail of arrows. Katara's jaw set itself, and she handed Aang's whistle to Toph.

"Keep blowing on this, and pray that someone's listening." A reluctant sigh, and she grumbled, "I'll get him."

Words spoken, she leapt from the ridge of the roof. As she rode an arc of ice onto the street, Zuko saw the waterbender join the fray with flare, a roundhouse sweep of water that sent several men spinning. The same whip knocked a spear from its fix on her back, and a flick of her wrists shot ice out into the crowd. A sword came too close, nicking her in the shoulder, and she winced.

Zuko had had about enough, throwing another blade off his own with a shower of sparks. He was a Fire Prince, in a fight with some lowly earth soldiers and a peasant backing him up. Disgraceful, truly…

A blast of white suddenly seared his eyes, and the heat of the lightning strike curled the hairs on his neck. He crouched instinctively, covering his head…and a solider fell down behind him, a long knife clutched in his stiff, charred hands. Zuko looked up.

His uncle was posed on the edge of the roof, arm still forward with smoke rolling off it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The lightning pierced the sky from out of nowhere, a finger of God slicing the blue. Its source seemed to have been in one of the alleyways, of all things, shooting up from between the clustered homes. The bison grunted in surprise, and Aang gave Sokka a raised eyebrow. Sokka mirrored it.

"That's worth a look."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Katara was in brief awe at the fire general, mouth hanging open and trying to stop the shapes from blinking in her vision. It was a miracle she hadn't been blinded by that. But her attention turned back to battling the remaining men around them.

"Zuko, **come on**!"

"I'm not tagging along with you, peasant, so take your friend and go!"

"Rrrrgghhh…" she growled in frustration, and snatched hold of the firebender's collar. It caught him as he was swinging the sword around, off balance the slightest bit, and jerked him as close to her as she dared.

"Now, Toph!"

The girl standing on the roof threw both arms over her head as though she were raising a puppet's strings, and the entire chunk of stone on which Katara and Zuko were rooted jumped into the air. It hung level only long enough for them to dismount, then thundered back down again, forcing the soldiers out of the way in it's obedience to gravity.

"Hey!" the waterbender exclaimed, finding a Dai Li had climbed his way up the wall. A stone cuff flew out and attached her hand to the clay tiles. The Dai Li stepped forward, set to strike at her again…

Until a pinwheel of steel swooped in and clocked the agent in the head, sending him hurtling backwards with a satisfactory BONG. The boomerang curved a neat path, and Katara watched its progress back into the hand of a very welcome individual.

"Sokka!"

"Finally," Toph huffed, exasperated, tucking the bison whistle away. She wrenched Katara's hand free, and the huge air bison dropped lower, flying alongside the rooftops.

Keeping pace for a few long strides, Katara seized Toph and forcibly threw her forward. An air current carried the girl the rest of the way and onto Appa's back.

"Katara, hurry up already!"

She looked to see if Iroh was behind her. Fortunately, he was. But so was Zuko.

"General Iroh, grab on! Sokka, pull! Tell Aang to fly faster!"

"You're running out of roof," the uncle advised her with a pant, as he too leapt. Sokka didn't need to assist him, as the bison flying adjacent to the roof dropped yet again. Tiles were exploding and spinning away as they tore the top of the building off, running on the peak that would soon drop them into the street.

Before she was able to try and hop on as well, a gust of air lifted her up a good ten feet, and she shrieked before landing next to Kuei. He looked frazzled, to say the least.

"Sorry Katara!" Aang shouted over his shoulder, and dodged a flying boulder that came from below. "Yip yip! YIP YIP!"

Appa needed no command to get out of the danger, and they ascended so quickly that the bottoms dropped out of their stomachs. Sokka breathed out a gust of relief, and yanked his sister into a quick embrace.

"Katara, you idiot! And what did you roll in, you smell terr…"

He noticed their passenger, who had also been flipped on by Aang's air sweep. And instantly glared.

"What is **HE** doing here, Katara?"

**A/N; I swear, many important things were touched on in this chapter. It'll start moving a lot faster soon, so hang in there. Boy, is it hard to write fight scenes. Amazing. Expect the next few chapters to be a little shorter than this one. Thank you for reading. Bye! **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7, to be followed very soon by Chapter 8. I own none of this: I'm not that imaginative, so just use this to bide time until the third season, I guess. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 7

Suki drew in another breath, trying to keep her feet underneath her and her storm-blue eyes focused. Blazes, her side ached. No doubt that the fire princess had broken her in several places, curse her.

She had surrendered to exhaustion and grief for some time last night, hands still dirty from the task of digging the graves for her friends. Suki had used a sword to make the resting places in the pliable earth: the weapon belonged to Sakura, rightfully, and Suki was certain that her companion would miss it, so she had thrown that in as well.

The three Fire Nation women had most certainly left her for dead, peeling off her armor and daring to dishonor it by wearing it themselves. Left the Kyoshi warriors and simply walked away, thinking nothing of it.

But they had underestimated Suki's stubbornness and endurance, which was in full power now as she limped along in the morning sunlight. She feared how weak the grief had left her, and tried to fixate on her task. Don't look beyond it, and don't look back. She needed to get to Sokka, somehow. Sokka and Aang. Warn him if it wasn't too late. Left foot, then right foot. Down again, one step more, one step more….

Another jab of pain hit her, but she only stopped to grit her teeth and bear it. It would be very easy to just give up now, even with vengeance rushing in her veins. To crawl to the roadside, wearing a thin and bloody garment about a very tired individual, and wait for some good Samaritan to walk by.

No.

A true warrior never gave up without a fight. Avatar Kyoshi would have laughed at such minor suffering and shrugged it off. Her fallen friends would have kept walking, driven by a greater purpose. Her mother would never have given in.

And _Sokka_ would never give up without digging his feet in, either.

Suki trudged on.

……………………… ……………………………………………………………………

The flight had carried them into the afternoon, over familiar terrain, in total discomfort and silence. Very few words had been spoken, unlike their first escape from Ba Sing Se. One snide comment from Sokka, about waiting until they flew over some sharp rocks to throw Zuko off. Or serpent infested waters, he wasn't too picky.

Bored by the quiet, Toph turned to ask Aang where they were headed. Poor Appa, all these people riding on him.

"Back to the Eastern Air Temple. I need to ask Guru Pathik something, and it'll give us a place to stay for the night."

"Reasonable enough," Sokka interjected, "But what about them?"

Aang's eyes met with the uncle's, trying to read anything from the expression.

"They're free to go, I guess. The whole point was to return a favor, and now we've done it."

"Ah, but now, you see," Iroh shifted his position on the bison's back, apparently very comfortable with the transportation, "Now _we_ owe _you_ something. A life for a life, and your friends have saved both my nephew and me."

"Stop bargaining with the Avatar, Uncle!" Zuko snapped. "Stop making peace offerings!"

If only they were not flying quite so fast, or quite so high, Zuko determined he would have gladly leapt off. Some remnant of self-preservation still in him forbade it.

"Zuko, I'm only offering to return a great deed of kindness."

"Ally yourself with them," Zuko whispered, as hushed as possible, "and the treachery will be irrevocable. Azula will be coming after us again, I hope you know."

"Not my fault," Iroh remarked. Zuko couldn't respond to that.

Sokka kept a sharp eye on the two firebenders. The sooner they were gotten rid of, the better.

"Well," Aang called from his position on Appa, "There is one thing I need."

Sokka's stomach took a plunge. No way_. No way_. **_No way_**. He was already thinking up arguments against the absurd deal that Aang was about to make. Trusting, gullible little kid! He had no idea what he was doing. Or with whom he was dealing with, for that matter.

Katara's eyebrows also shot up, horrified at the thought of making a deal with Zuko. That spoiled traitor. Both parties were on the run, sure, and both had a common interest of…what? Nothing. Of course not. This was simple crazy talk they were steering towards.

Toph merely waited and listened. Twinkletoes was best left to his own decisions every once in a while. He _was_ the Avatar, after all.

Aang blatantly ignored the shock on his friend's faces, and kept talking.

"I need a firebending teacher, sir. I have to master it before summer's end, which doesn't really give me much time to actually look for someone…"

"Aang! What are you thinking?!" Sokka hollered, before he could say any more.

Aang wasn't so sure at the moment, but fate had tied this band together quite neatly so far.

He had just happened to get caught in that storm, encased in an iceberg to dream 100 years away. Katara and Sokka could have not been out fishing that day, and they never would have found him.

Maybe Zuko never would have either, had Aang and Katara not set off that old signal on the ship. Why had Zuko been near the South Pole to begin with?

And Toph…it would have been so easy to miss that tournament. After all, it had been an underground fighting circle, with a semi-secret location, its champion known only by the alias 'The Blind Bandit.'

So here they were, having gone back and been able to find the uncle and nephew, and only because Iroh had chosen to protect Aang and Katara. It would have been much better just to escape Ba Sing Se and not take any risks, but Katara and Toph had returned anyway. And found them, when it would have been so much more predictable to not rescue anybody.

And it was very **hard** to ignore it, when fate was nudging him in a given direction. He had learned to listen to it, at least. Even if he didn't quite understand it.

"General Iroh, I would be ever grateful to be your pupil."

Iroh only smiled, and bowed his head slightly.

"And it would be my delight to have you as a student, Avatar."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko was beyond disgusted with his uncle. How could he have done that, turning truly traitor against his nation, and offering aid to the enemy? For what purpose? To what personal benefit?

Zuko shot a look over at the travelers, huddled around a meager fire and trying to shield it from the breezes. The Water Tribe buffoon, he had said that a larger fire would be like a beacon for anyone hunting them, as high up as they were. Up on the mountains, Zuko had almost conceded that point. It seemed to be the remains of a temple that the bison-thing had brought them to, long destroyed by his kind in their genocide of the airbenders.

Treachery, all of this.

_You're one to talk, Zuko. Who was it that blew apart your sister's new throne room?_

Zuko felt the same unease of earlier return on him, sneaking up and making itself at home. _That was different. It was Uncle, I couldn't do that. Even if he is a traitor…and now I'm back where I started._

"Prince Zuko?"

_Oh no, not now…_Zuko braced himself for a didactic lecture, not turning to face his uncle, but staying rooted where he was. Face stuck in a glare.

"Zuko, you should eat," Iroh said simply. He held out the tough meat and shrub plants the water siblings had managed to find. The smell caused Zuko's stomach to twist in hunger, and it was by willpower alone that he refused it.

"Not hungry."

"Oh, then I'm sure you won't mind if I eat it myself?"

Iroh waited for a response, and sighed. Zuko had all of Ozai's pigheadedness, that was certain.

"Zuko, I need you to understand something. Maybe this time around you will, I'm not sure."

"Understand what, Uncle?" Zuko shot back, locking eyes with him and seething considerably. "Understand that I've firmly destroyed the last chance I had at my honor? That I'm going to be a fugitive for the rest of my life? That you, who I thought loyal, would offer aid to the one who wants to overthrow my father?"

He swallowed, wetting his dried throat, and turned away. "Interrupt me if I've failed to recognize something."

Iroh thought for a moment, closing his eyes. _Help me _he pleaded with the spirits. _I don't want to lose him again. I need him to make this choice on his own, as well. Please, help._

"Zuko," he recalled, not taking a seat, "Do you remember what I told you, that day after our little run in with Azula?"

No response. Very well.

"I told you that you would only be able to master lightning when you had overcome your own turmoil, separated your energies."

He saw the slightest stiffening of his nephew's back. Good, he was listening. Now to hold the audience.

"Back in the throne room, unless my old memory fails me, you were able to redirect Azula's lightning without hesitation. Do you know why?"

There: Iroh saw it. Zuko had been on the verge of shaking his head, but caught himself and remained expressionless, looking out into the night.

"Because you chose, Zuko. Between the most basic energies within a man, you made your decision and drove them apart, and were able to control the lightning because of it. Do you know the composition of a soul, Zuko?"

A slight turn of his head.

"Yin and Yang. Just and unjust. Right and wrong, the choices that make us who we are. And you, when the situation demanded it, chose good."

Iroh smiled.

"Just like I said to you before, come to think of it. My, you are so obedient."

Zuko cast a glance down at his hands.

"Are you trying to get me to stay and chose sides in this war? I'm an outcast, Uncle. This war is of no concern to me anymore." The gray of neutrality disgusted him as well, but anything was better than aiding an enemy against his father. But the nation had cast him out… hadn't he been here before?

He lay down on the worn stones, closing his eyes and sinking into sleep.

"I'll be leaving in the morning. You are still welcome to come."

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Was everybody asleep? Aang looked around to check, peering at Katara and Sokka, huddled up without their sleep skins. After all, their traveling supplies were gone: for a pair who had grown up in the South Pole, they looked awfully cold. Toph was in her earth tent, flopped there in exhaustion, Bosco and Kuei nearby. Iroh seemed to have taken to Appa well, and was snoring near the bison's massive head.

Good.

Although he was half dead on his feet, Aang felt this was too urgent to wait on anymore. He snatched his staff up and crept away lightly, passing his sleeping friends with the quiet of a feather. Were would Guru Pathik be? Up on the roofs, Aang figured.

With a snap of the glider he took off, leaping onto the back of the night air and riding it all the way, circling the temple. So quiet, so peaceful.

Aang had never been to the Eastern Air Temple before his imprisonment in the iceberg. What had it looked like then? Soft and peaceful, just like now. But with lots more life, definitely. Much happier, with fountains and wind lily gardens and a group of young airbenders playing on air scooters, down there in the ancient courtyard….

Aang sighed again (it was becoming a habit), turning the glider into a steeper climb. Up, up, to the highest point of the massive structure.

No surprise to him, a familiar face was waiting there, sitting atop a wiry, dark body folded into a meditative position. Both dark, glinting eyes were shut.

"Guru Pathik…?"

"Ah, back again, I see." Pathik cracked an eye. "You seem different, Avatar Aang."

Aang's heart fluttered. Relief or anticipation?

"I do?"

"Hmm. You've blocked yourself another chakra. Survival, looks like."

**What**? How was that possible? How was it fair that a chakra could get blocked again?

"What's blocking it?" he asked, hesitating to take a seat. If he sat down, he would certainly fall asleep for the next day or so.

"Fear. You are suddenly afraid of something else, and it is a stumbling block for you."

"Huh? But what am I…oh, _right_," Aang grumbled. He had to meditate on it, dig through his exhausted brain to find the answer.

"Loneliness, Aang," the guru answered effortlessly. Both of his eyes were closed again. "You fear being alone and separated from the ones you love, from the love that has carried you this far. You fear that abandonment."

"How can't I? You told me," Aang was suppressing his frustration poorly, "that I have to let go of love."

"Let go of it? Never. Love is what saves us, and separates the good from the evil. Love is a form of energy, remember? Those we love never leave us, Avatar Aang. This is another thing you must learn, if you are to achieve your destiny."

Now Aang spoke up.

"Huh? But you said, right here in the same place we're sitting, that I had to let go of…"

"Earthly attachments," Pahtik finished.

"Aren't they the same thing? I don't understand." _Boy, you sure are saying that a lot lately, Aang._ He rested his head in his hands.

"No, not at all. Earthly attachments are magnetism: they attract, but do not bind. Love, on the other hand, in its true form, is a contract of the soul, and it welds. Its bonds cannot be broken, by time, adversity, persecution or death. It is not something to be let go of."

But he loved Katara. He loved her, and he remembered thinking of her when it had helped him open a chakra. So what was going on now?

"There are different types of love, Avatar Aang," Pahtik continued. "Use them all to help you. You'll understand in time."

Aang almost roared at that: he wanted answers **now**, he needed them **now**! Pahtik chuckled at the barely contained expression stamped onto the boy's face.

"I suggest looking towards your friend for aid, in terms of conflicts with yourself. I believe he is on the verge of a decisive victory."

What friend? Did Sokka have some kind of problem he kept under wraps? Aang was frustrated, a feeling he hated but was growing used to.

But Pahtik would say no more, even as Aang waited for quite a while, gaze never leaving Pahtik. With a lot more to think about than he wanted, the exhausted airbender finally stumbled to his feet, wearily opening his glider to descend and get a few precious hours of rest.

"Thank you," he sighed.

A moment of silence, and them the voice came from behind him. "Gyatso says he's proud of you."

Aang whirled around, but Pahtik's face was as undisturbed as before. Aang gave a genuine smile, small but still there, and soared off.

**A/N: Told you it would be shorter, just a little bit. The next chapter will be here ASAP, but I have a paper to write. Oh, and I'm going to out myself and say that I adore the Taang pairing, so that should be the direction of this story. Not to say that I don't like Kataang, but I just think Toph and Aang balance each other so well. Avatars are meant to bring balance to the world, after all. And they're both indescribably awesome. Kataang shippers, I shall write a one-shot in honor of this couple some day soon. So yeah, I'm really sorry if this is not one of the pairings you support. Thank you for reading…. Have a good weekend!!**


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, Chapter 8….I think this one is kinda disturbing, but here you go. I own nothing.

Chapter 8

A woman strode along the dimly lit corridor, almost floating as her fiery red garments bore her down the hall. Click, click, click, only the slightest mark of footfalls to signal her approach.

Her back had a dignified curve to it, her pale skin cool and soft in contrast with the dark hair that was done up regally. Winking in and out of existence as it briefly flashed in the torchlight, the flame crown pinned it in place: a gold color to match her well shaped eyes. Classic Fire Nation beauty, as all would say.

She carried a small tray and an expression devoid of any evident emotions. Her progress halted before one of the doors, a large one with dragons emblazoned on it. The woman drew her shoulders up and entered as quietly as she had come.

It was a chamber, furnished in similar colors to those the ebony-haired woman wore, and light by several flames on the walls. Amidst it was an older man, seated at a desk and turned to his work, reading a pile of scrolls. His head lifted as she entered, a flame crown atop his own silver head. His small, beady eyes squinted sharply in puzzlement.

"Ursa? What are you doing here at this hour?"

The woman cracked a warm smile that did not reach her eyes, and she came forward with the tray, resting it on the desk.

"Feeling restless. The same thing could be said for you, Fire Lord Azulon. I was just inquisitive as to whether you would have a cup of tea with me."

The aging Fire Lord shifted in his seat, and reached out for the delicate cup, and lifted the soothing drink to his lips. Ursa sipped her own, resting on the chair before him and keeping her head bowed respectively. An abyss of silence followed, until Azulon finally spoke.

"So, Ursa," Azulon asked offhand, "What do you want?"

Princess Ursa met his gaze, almost timidly. "I am certain I do not have to tell you, Azulon."

He sighed, and drew another sip of his tea. "Ursa, there is no point in a further discussion. You will say nothing that I have not already considered."

Ursa was undeterred, and she still kept the placid calm in her voice. "I do not see how any greater good will come of this, my Lord."

"Ozai has demonstrated treachery to his own blood, disrespect towards his brother and future Fire Lord. I believe that merits grave punishment indeed."

"Yes, but my husband misspoke, I am sure. And there is innocent blood to be shed, please…."

Azulon looked down the bridge of his nose at the Fire Princess, who was in turn looking down into her tea. He could not see them, but he did not doubt that there were tears in her eyes. Women, after all, had little mind for these things.

"It will strengthen the line, Ursa. See it in that light."

"Forgive me," she countered, "if I am unable to see beyond my firstborn's impending execution."

Momentarily, Azulon almost thought he heard steel ringing in her soft voice. It must have been the headache that was pressing on his temples.

"Ozai must know what it is like to suffer such a loss as Iroh has, Ursa."

"But Zuko is an heir as much as Iroh is, Azulon! How can you allow for such a..."

"Your son," Azulon interrupted, rising to open the window, "will never be a Fire Lord. He lacks the raw power and skill in his art that his sister possesses. He has no edge to him; no leader's will or reasoning. He is a weak link, and the bloodline will be only purified."

Ursa winced, and pursed her lips. "That's what I thought you'd say," she whispered. Her eyes went to the tea cup that Azulon had left behind on the desk, and she reached out to pick it up. But she held it instead of placing it upon the tray, tracing its delicate edge with one graceful, long finger. A spirit smile ghosted across her red lips, and a mirthless laugh escaped her.

"Zuko and I were in the garden yesterday. He wanted to show me a trick he's been trying to get the hang of."

Azulon cast the pitiful woman a cold glance, standing at the window and looking out into the night. It was to be expected, he supposed. Ursa was not one to understand such things as sacrifices for the Nation's well being. She kept talking, making no move to leave, lost in her own world.

"He **does** try, you know. Jumped into the air, trying to do one of those acrobatic flips and leave a trail of fire. Nothing terribly threatening, just for dazzle, I suppose."

Ursa still held the cup, observing her reflection in its polished surface.

"So he tried, and he did it perfectly: he was so proud! But, as luck would have it, he stumbled on the landing. Fell into the bushes and got scuffed up some. And, of course, I ran to him. He was fine, absolutely fine, but as I parted the foliage looking for my child..."

She stopped, cut off in mid-sentence, and something changed in her eyes. Something planted itself in her voice, keeping her gaze on the Fire Lord's back as he leaned into the cool night air. And she put the cup down on the tray.

"You'll never guess what I found, Azulon."

Azulon was finding it hard to listen, his head still throbbing. The pain spiked, and he turned back to face Ursa, trying to process what she was saying. She continued.

"The most _unusual_ plant, my Lord. A true rarity, when one finds a dragonsbane at this time of year."

Azulon's eyes widened. Ursa kept her calm expression, nonplussed.

"And of course, I pointed it out to Zuko. A mother's duty, teaching her child such things. 'Zuko' I told him, 'this is considered to be one of the loveliest flowers in the world by many, when it reaches bloom. But appearances aren't everything.'"

And now Ursa had risen from her seat as well, taking Azulon by the arm and guiding him towards his sleeping chamber. His hands were locked around her arm, but the grip was softening.

"They say that dragonsbane is the assassin's closest companion. Its poison is so subtle, yet so swift, perfect if one crushes the seeds. Before it blooms, anyway. And it takes so very little…"

She removed the Fire Lord's crown and let him sink limply onto the bed,

"…to do so much damage."

She turned the crown over in her hands as though in curiosity, observing the golden pools that the fires in the room created on its surface. She looked at the dying man beside her, as he stared bewildered at this strange woman, this woman who was nothing like the one Ozai had wed.

"It's not something men understand, Azulon."

She rested the crown on the bedside, and with his last few struggling breaths as the poison slowed his heart, he managed to mutter something that sounded like a name.

Ursa reached over and shut his eyes with her fingers.

"Men never seem to understand what a woman can become when her own are threatened."

She rose from her kneeling position, gathered up her two little cups, and turned to go.

Except for the fact that Ozai was standing there, observing his wife with a slightly cocked head and an impassive expression. If it surprised her, she did not show it.

"Good evening, love," he greeted, striding imposingly into the room. He cast a look at his father, then back to his wife. Taking the china cup from her stiff hands, he smelt it ever so slightly. The scent was unmistakable.

"Now, Ursa, why did you go and do that?"

"He was to have Zuko killed," she answered instantly, equally as level in temperament.

"Yes, I know."

Ursa shifted the small tray to one hand, positioned herself before her husband, and pulled up as tall as she could stand. "The throne is yours, if you want it. Say it was his dying wish. Anything at all, but please," she begged, "leave my son be."

Ozai looked displeased, to say the least, a great crease across his brow. It was a stormy look his son would one day share. Ursa was pulled closer to him with a rough jerk, and she paled slightly. The change was imperceptible against her ivory skin.

"His death upsets you?" There was disbelief in her voice.

"No," Ozai said dismissively, "it's just a shame I can't trust you anymore."

And Ursa stiffened, a soft exhaust of breath escaping her, and her body slumped limply against him.

Ozai extracted the small silver knife from his treacherous wife's side, still holding her like a loving spouse. A drop of crimson fell into the floor, but blended with all the other reds about it.

"Prince Ozai, you asked me to…."

A servant entered, and froze in place at the sight, as Prince Ozai of the Fire Nation set the bloody knife down next to his dead father.

"Take care of this," he said, motioning with the arm that still cradled Ursa.

The servant shrunk in fear, mentally sealing his lips, and bowed.

"Yes, Fire Lord Ozai."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko awoke with a violent jerk, dropping back into himself and loosing a blast of flame as he propelled himself upright. A cry of rage was caged in his throat, and he fought with it for a few moments. He was drawing in each breath like it was his last, eyes wide and filled with the images of his mother. His mother, the knife, the blood, and his father. What had that been?

A dream and nothing more.

Another one of those fever dreams of yours.

And yet it had not had the same feel of a dream, none of the weightlessness and surrealistic phenomena. It had felt more like a memory, one that had never happened, just built itself up around events that had. It had never happened. A single question, poison and dangerous, went off in his mind.

_How do you know that?_

His father would never have killed his mother. Zuko repeated that several times in his head, and it did not sound convincing the in fifth round, either.

Ozai, stabbing his wife. _Traitors are a chink in your armor. They must be eliminated with all haste, never show them mercy. They will ask for it_: _those who betray us are often the closest to us._

That had been his father's lesson, among the many. Ruthless ruler, as a Fire Lord had to be….

_He would give the throne to Azula before you. You were never even an option, you were a disgrace. And what if he did kill her? It was in code with what he believed. In code with what **you** believe._

_And that knife, did you recognize it?_

Zuko did. Several days after his grandfather's funeral and his father's coronation, Zuko had been out, still asking the servants where his mother wasWhere was she? Where had she gone? And he had been sitting by the pond, as though waiting for her to arrive. They always sat by the pond and read a book at this time of day. Always. Then something had caught his eye, glinting in the sun that reached through the water.

With a childlike curiosity, he had waded in to reach it, from it's hiding place under the slimy pond rocks.

The red stuck in the dagger's simple cloth-bound handle had so puzzled him then.

_So, Zuko, what are you going to do?_ It was distinctly his own voice that asked.

Zuko rested back down, body sheen with sweat and sleep banished from his mind. But for one of the few times in his life thus far, he had swept away any doubts. He was making a decision, without a knife pressed to someone's throat. Yet, anyway.

Zuko shut his eyes to see the same thing over and over and over.

But he knew exactly what he was going to do.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

"That was severe interference," Kyoshi commented, snapping open her fan and observing the Fire Prince as he laid back down in the dark. Roku turned to Aang, who had managed to fall asleep at last.

"Desperate times, Kyoshi," Roku replied dryly.

Besides, the Dragon of the West had implored them, and far too much was at stake for his plea to go unanswered.

"We should be off. We've lingered too long," Kyoshi said. Roku nodded.

And both vanished from a world were few could see them anyway, their work accomplished for the time being.


	9. Chapter 9

Here's Chapter 9… thank you for the responses! (Both the good and the bad: at least people are reading!) So, yeah, may as well get started. Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, although I want them for Christmas. Do you think I can get them if I ask nicely??

Chapter 9

Sokka had found his interest caught up in the little ant-fly for some time now, after he had spotted it crawling beside his foot. Sitting up that morning before anyone else awoke, Sokka had observed the glossing of morning dew on everything (himself included), and set to wonder what their next course of action would be, when he noticed the small winged bug.

The insect had scuttled out of a crevice between the old stones, making a few circles as though searching for something, and then it had found a goldmine: a gigantic slab of meat in its path.

Well, to Sokka it was a crumb, but that didn't matter.

The ant-fly was unsatisfied with just divulging in his jackpot right there, and seemed to have big plans for carrying it home. Maybe to his little ant-fly wife and three ant-fly kids. The insect had struggled with it, beating its delicate translucent wings and pushing from all ends, but it was a very large crumb. It didn't budge.

Sokka sort of sympathized with it: determined and goal oriented, with a huge task in front of it that seemed impossible. He had reached over to pick up the crumb or something, try and help, when the ant-fly took a bite out of the sinewy meat and ran off with it. Sokka was slightly disappointed: it had given up.

Until a second later his friend was back, to get another mouthful and bring it home. Piece by piece, breaking something intimidating down into smaller parts. Good thinking.

"Wuzz….Sokka?" he heard someone yawn from next to him. His sister had rolled over and was looking up through one open eye. "Morning already?"

"I wish it wasn't," he commented. The sun was so offensively bright already, especially to his very tired eyes.

"Oh well," she responded, rising lazily to her feet and shuffling over to where their fire had been. What to do for food? She was certain they couldn't just show up in any town they came to; leave a trail of sightings for the Fire Nation to follow. Not really anything to eat up here…unless the airbenders had had some kind of orchard on the temple grounds that she would have to scout out.

"Katara?"

"Yeah."

"What should we do now? Sure, Aang has his firebender, but where do we go? Funny how we usually have a destination somewhere to keep us focused."

"Hmm…"

Katara cast an inconspicuous glance over at the sleeping form of Zuko, partly concealed behind a rock. She figured (if he was still the same person as before) that he would want to leave them. But, as appealing as it seemed to be to get Zuko as far away from Aang as possible, she knew she couldn't let him just go. He could walk off this mountain, go right back to the Fire Nation, and lead his crazy sister to them without as much as a second thought. Katara glared. She hated not being able to trust someone. Even if she had never considered trusting Zuko in the first place. _Then why did you almost waste your Oasis water on him? What is wrong with you sometimes?_

"I think we need to go help Dad," Sokka spoke up, throwing her train of thought off its tracks. Katara looked over at him from her struggles to get a decent fire going.

"What about Suki?"

Sokka swallowed, eyes downcast. "I don't know. I really want to go find her," he looked up, and the blue eyes locked, "but Dad may be in worse trouble."

"Yeah, I think so," she said, and left it at that.

Toph woke up a few minutes later, shaking sleep out of her head and sitting forcefully down next to the little pile of wood that Katara was trying to make into a fire. Stupid damp kindling.

"So, Sugarqueen," Toph asked, after hearing Katara mutter and mumble for a brief time, "What's the plan for today?"

"We're debating that," Sokka said, taking a seat opposite her and fiddling with the edge of his boomerang. He looked over at that bug again. The meat was half gone.

"Huh. I think we should just get this whole thing over with. Just blow into the Fire Lord's palace or whatever, and do what we have to."

"Yeah. To bad it'll get us all killed via being roasted alive," came Sokka's sarcastic response.

"Well, good morning."

All three turned, and General Iroh was standing over them, eyes on the hopeless campfire.

"May I?"

"Ummmm…" Katara scooted backwards a few inches.

Taking that as a yes, he knelt down, reached over the kindling, and gave the barest flick of his wrist, as though emptying something into it. There was a small burst and the flames immediately danced up, crackling merrily. Sokka jumped ever so slightly, even though he had been expecting it.

"Thanks," Toph smiled, putting out her hands to collect the soft, living warmth the blaze gave off.

"No trouble." He took a seat as well.

Katara was not uneasy around him, much to her surprise. He was Fire Nation, after all, even though he had helped them. It was probably because Toph liked the guy, she reasoned. Katara always thought that Toph was the best judge of character, out of their group. Things like appearances and lies weren't of any concern to her, because she could detect one and not the other.

"Twinkletoes still down for the count?"

Sokka peered over at the boy, on whose sleeping head Momo had curled up and was snoring loudly. "Yep. Let him sleep: he earned it."

Katara nodded, and poked at the fire. Curses, she was hungry.

"So," Toph rubbed her small hands together, "now the Earth Kingdom is conquered territory. I dunno where we're gonna find any allies."

Sokka shrugged. Then Iroh leaned forward, closer to the fire, a pensive expression on his face.

"Ba Sing Se will become a center for Fire Nation power in the Kingdom. My brother knows that too expansive an empire without proper control over its parts will only weaken it."

"How very clever….hi, Aang."

The airbender was awake now, minutes after his friends had agreed that he needed more sleep, and had gotten very little. But for someone who had been through as much as he had in the past day, he looked surprisingly bright and cheery. Not smiling, exactly, but it was as if his aura had a new spark to it. Sore, but he could handle it.

"Morning," he piped up, sitting in their increasingly expansive circle. Momo hopped onto the boy's shoulder and resumed his slumber.

"Did you want to go find that guru guy?" Toph asked, reaching over and petting Momo's soft head. His fur was always such a strange feel, under her fingers. The lemur seemed to enjoy it, and a content chatter escaped him.

"I already spoke with him."

"Huh? When was that?" Sokka frowned.

"Last night."

Sokka nodded, and went back into his own thoughts as his friends made small talk. He was searching for the beginning of an idea that had been forming, when Aang had come. He hated that, how things could just disappear inside his own brain and slip out of his grasp. And he hit on it abruptly.

"Iroh," he asked, "Would Ozai dispatch troops to Ba Sing Se? You know, to help Psycho Lady control it?"

"Of course. I'm sure my niece doesn't trust those Dai Li completely: I certainly wouldn't." They'd turned on Long Feng, after all.

"And would he send out forces to quell a rebellion in a conquered territory? To keep his control?"

Again, Iroh affirmed Sokka's thoughts. "Yes. The only good rebellion is a crushed one, my father always told us."

Now Sokka was barely able to sit on his excitement. His face had split into the most unnerving grin Katara thought his countenance capable of, and his voice nearly cracked as he seized Aang's shoulders. Momo screeched and leapt off.

"That's it! THAT'S IT!!"

"**What's** it?" Aang shouted, getting jostled about. Sokka yanked Aang to his feet, pulling him over to near where he had slept. Now he had everyone's attention.

"Look at that! See that bug?"

Aang's face scrunched up in confusion, wondering if the fatigue and hunger had gone to Sokka's head. Yeah, he saw it. A little ant-fly running off with the last of a piece of meat from dinner. What was he getting at?

"Look at what he's doing: he couldn't move the big piece, so what did he do? He split it up, and it was easy. He thought a way around the problem."

Aang's eyes widened.

"So," Sokka said, "Why not split up the Fire Nation's defenses? Why not incite rebellion in the conquered territories? Because if the troops get shipped off on the offensive, they forget about the defensive, and the Fire Nation capital gets left on half staff. And when the eclipse comes…HA!"

Sokka leapt forward slightly as though jumping on something.

"They'll be completely defenseless. We could practically just walk in…"

Now it was Aang's turn to be the strategist. He continued Sokka's thoughts.

"Well, why not? Why not learn something from Azula, and work our way from the inside _out_? Why don't we disburse the army _and_ infiltrate the city? With the depletion of forces actually in the Fire Nation, it just might work."

Toph was near to dancing, but was satisfied with grinning. So much negative energy swirling everywhere yesterday, so much hopelessness and defeat. And now it was all evaporating as they got their feet under them. Oh, this was going to be **fun**. "Sounds good to me."

Katara glanced towards Iroh. He had a surprisingly devilish look on his wise face, and smiled at Sokka, who was still going on.

"So now, what we have to do is go get Dad, ask him if he knows any cities worth stirring up…." It was a self-congratulatory tone if Katara had ever heard one, but he definitely deserved it.

"Well, let's get moving." She wasn't hungry anymore, at least not for now. Toph turned to poke Kuei and Bosco awake, energy in her quick stride.

"Ah, good morning, nephew."

Katara turned. Sure enough, there was Zuko, awake and standing beside the fire with an ambiguous expression on his face. He appeared even more exhausted than he had before going to sleep last night, drawn and paler than usual. He looked over at his uncle, then over at the Avatar, formulating what to say.

"Will you be parting from our company this morning, Prince Zuko?" Zuko seemed not to notice the knowing expression on Iroh's face. The former, humbled price cast his eyes skyward for a moment, and surrendered.

"Let's get moving," he huffed. And he looked Aang square in the eye, arms akimbo, as Aang gave him a hard glance in return.

"Avatar, I can only hope that you are a fast learner."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Well, there you go. That's how Zuko joins the gang. Hahaha, old plot device that never gets old. Thank you for the reviews. One note: in terms of pairings, I'm sorry I can't please everyone. I'll take one-shot requests though….thank you!!**


	10. Chapter 10

Whoo. And I sit and wait for my Christmas break to get here, alternating between studying for a Philosophy test, composing an essay about the Battle of Gettysburg, and writing this story! Which one do you think is the most fun?? Okay, here we go, onto Chapter 10. Wow, double digits. I own nothing, by the way, so don't sue me.

Chapter 10

Azula focused, a lone figure standing in the training court, posture straight and solid.

She probed through her own consciousness, weaving in and out of her thoughts, until she found what she needed and gathered it in. All feeling turned itself off automatically, and she became nothing more than a machine, a vessel, a weapon.

A breath to hold down the rising tide, and her eyes snapped open. Another breath for preparation, and then she loosed herself.

With no where else to go, the pool of energy ran a clean path through her, up her arm and out in a long stream of electric blue blaze. She turned with it, leading it in a tight circle around her, in a dance where neither partner would follow for a single step, at odds and yet in perfect sync.

It had never frightened her, never intimidated her, the power that she could produce and exhibit. Azula, the firebending prodigy. Teachers had always lectured her about learning to tame her fire, dangerous and destructive in its nature.But there was no _fun_ in that: she preferred it wild, bending only because her will was greater and her power superior. Dangerous? It had merely been a delight, woven into her steely laughter and intelligent eyes.

She could bring as much pain and intimidation as she pleased, next to divine. She was a force of nature within herself, a master, a ruler. To remind herself of that, she sent a flare of lightning out, scorching the parched earth.

She was merely experiencing a minor setback, an obstacle over which she needed to leap. But Azula was unsettled, nonetheless.

Zuko. Zuko had turned yet again. He was so fickle and unpredictable, fluttering in between his choices like the fire he could manipulate. Indecisive and weak, Azula had always thought.When she had turned him away from Iroh, her triumph could only be equated to that of the Serpent, at the Fall of Man. He seemed desperate; it had been so simple to offer out that apple of false promise. He was hers to control until she had no further use of him.

And then something had gone awry, and that was what bothered her the most: that when Zuko had been backed into a corner, his choice had been against his nation, against his own benefits, and it had stirred something in him that Azula bore a fresh burn as a memoir of. In defense of another's life, atypically altruistic, and for a few brief moments….

Zuko had been stronger than her.

How was that possible?

She had pierced him, expecting his 'weak' spirit to yield to her demands. Instead, she had broken his first layer and struck iron.

Azula kept the blue flame pirouetting through the air, a frown and a mark on her face. _You are in control of the situation. You are the one running the show. Any who dare to contest that will only face your judgment._

She told herself this at she whipped the trail of fire overhead and brought it down again.

Azula curled the blue fire that had coiled around her body inwards, until it returned to a thin, spinning top between her fingers. Shifted her feet again, leaving slight marks in the dirt of the training arena, and the morning sun glaring down on her. Her senses were acute and tuned, listening to the pulse of her element in her veins…

"Azula! Azula!"

Azula's face twisted into a frown. She had issued specific orders to not be disturbed, and opened her eyes to see Ty Lee standing the fire weaving in her hands, Azula pulled the flame around her fist, reeled back, and launched it at the girl in front of her.

Ty Lee was unaffected, as she performed a tight back flip to dodge it, sticking the landing without a single hair out of place and with the same childish look on her face.

"Azula, the Dai Li wanted to know…"

**Fwoosh.** Ty Lee bent over backwards, letting it roar overhead.

"…what you wanted…"

The acrobat took to the air, clearing the distance over Azula. Banter, it was all playful banter.

"..to do."

Azula sighed, and the flame finally vanished. She wondered where that messenger hawk was by now, off with news of her conquest in Ba Sing Se. Another one accounting Zuko's treachery would not be sent. She walked off the training court, dusting herself off, and responded.

"The Avatar was sighted again yesterday. And of all the people he could have been with! Zuzu never ceases to astound me."

"Yeah, so?"

"I suppose we need to pursue and finally eliminate him. He remains a threat." _How had the boy managed to survive when you struck him down? How has he eluded you yet again? Are_ _you loosing your edge, my dear?_ Her thoughts sounded as though expressed in Ozai's voice. "Ridding the world of my simpleton uncle and brother couldn't hurt."

He had seen through her intentions, somehow. Since when did Zuko see anything clearly?

"So, what, do you want me and Mai to go or something?"

Azula considered. Keep your minions close, and your enemies closer.

"No, I'll need somebody I can trust here in this city, extra eyes and ears. I'll ask our new friends to recommend any good bounty hunters." A slight smile.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go address my public."

She turned and left.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Suki had kept her promise to press on, at least. She had stopped to tighten the makeshift bandages, stopped to rest, stopped to force something down her throat. Her grim purpose had driven away much of her appetite.

So now it was morning again, and she had slowly realized that she had no idea where she was, simply walking along the roads. Some of her sense had returned as she was able to sleep, some of the fog disbursed.

Now it was time to re-gather her thoughts. Yes, keep going, but where? She had bonded with the strong stick that she had found, after collapsing under a massive blossom tree. A substitute for her left leg initially, now it was leading her.

A game, really. To reach out with the stick, make a scuff in the earth, and promise herself that she would make it to that little mark. The same thing, over and over.

She sighed, and prayed that Sokka was better off.

**Sokka**. What a mass of contradictions he was, one moment a reckless boy and the next a warrior. It had amazed her how quickly she had come to like him, when he had first come to Kyoshi: he was just so unusual. Arrogant, but humorous. Stubborn, but willing to learn and change.

Guilty, as well: what had happened to him at the North Pole? He had told her that with such strange regret, and something in her had shifted. _Someone I couldn't protect…_Some want to free him of his burden.

She had decided not to be a burden, back on the road at some point. He would never have to feel guilty about her, because she was going to keep going, keep fighting, and see justice carried out.

Yes, it sounded all well and good. She blew some of her short hair out of her face, and straightened just enough so that she could get a good look down the road.

That was when she heard the shouts, rising from up ahead.

Shrieks, jeering laughter, things breaking. In short, the sound of trouble. God help her.

Suki approached cautiously, leaving the worn path and attempting stealth through the underbrush: Hard to be stealthy when your body wants to fall over and sleep for the next year. But she reminded herself of her duties, and pulled aside her coverage to view the scene.

Nothing less than a look at the lowest of man's nature, Suki observed with a foul taste in her mouth. Three armed men, two of which were looting the small carriage that seemed to have gotten held up. The third was restraining the woman who, presumably, owned it. A small, simple-featured woman who looked only a handful of years Suki's senior, wearing peasant's garb. An angry mark over her face, a single drop of blood beaded on her thin lips.

"Stop! Leave that alone, please! I'm to bring it to…"

The tallest of the three turned and struck her carelessly, and she hit the dust with a moan.

_**Well??** Do something, fool. Are you a warrior or aren't you?_ Suki urged herself.

She was also physically destroyed. Even these bandits could probably kill her, in the condition she was in. No weapon, no armor, one good leg…

_Two kinds of evil in the world, Suki. Those who commit it, and those who see it happening and yet do nothing. _

She drew herself up and prepared for the worst. Stepped into the sunlight, taking a slightly sagging fighting stance.

"Get away from her."

It came out surprisingly cold and strong, a wolf-lion's growl. The second bandit, the one with a topknot of scruffy hair, laughed.

"Looks like you're in no position to be giving orders." And that was all he said to her. He turned to the tall one.

"Deal with her, I'll get the money."

The tall one rolled his eyes, flicked out a knife from his boot, and made to step towards her with a bored expression. Suki's temper flared.

She had never been an expert at the quarterstaff, but that didn't mean she couldn't use it. She decided that now was a very convenient time to figure out just how good she actually was.

The staff turned a tight semi-circle, soundlessly cutting the air and smashing into the man's legs, which were swept out from under him with a burst of dust. Something in her side ripped in the process, but she had gotten enough momentum to subdue it.

A blow between the man's eyes, ducking down to fumblingly retrieve his knife.

The one with the topknot was armed with some sort of broadsword, which was barely blocked by Suki's walking stick, looking for an opening.

THWACK! She jerked away and broke several of his fingers, it sounded like. The bandit howled in pain, bringing the sword about with his good hand. The staff and the sword locked.

Suki knew that was bad: her strength was so depleted, it would not be a very long contest…_Think of something!!_

She ducked under the stalemate weapons, driving into the man and plowing them both to the ground. Suki cried in pain when the sword took a good piece out of her side as they fell, rolled like a pair of animals in the dust.

She would protect this one, she wouldn't fail this stranger.

Suki ignored the warmth now flooding her right side, leaving a spatter in the road, limbs heavy but still moving. A broadsword wouldn't work at such close distance, and she landed a shockingly heavy blow to the man's face. Undignified, but she would settle for living.

The world was starting to fade out, dimming like in a sunset. _FINISH IT!_

Her groping hand found the knife she had dropped, but the man had thrown her off already. Something cracked, but Suki pulled up again anyway.

The third one had run off with the stolen goods, leaving his friends to kill her. And there went the other bandit after him. Cowards.

With a grunt, Suki threw the knife, blinded by a mix of blood loss and anger.

Satisfied as the flying death hit its mark, Suki made up her mind. The world tilted sharply.

_I suppose a few minutes rest wouldn't hurt._

The last thing she saw as she sank to the ground was the woman standing over her, calling something, holding something….

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Zuko did not want to be friends with anybody.

He did not want the Avatar's companionship, nor was he doing this purely because it was the relative "right thing."

He frankly didn't trust the Avatar or his ragged friends. Hated them. They could always turn him in to Azula when he had served whatever purpose he had, after all. But choosing between his father and the Avatar, it was the lesser of two evils. Any companionship was for the sole purpose of a vendetta against Ozai and Azula, who had crossed him one too many times. He was tired of running, and that was the only reason why he was hurtling through the air with a bunch of peasants, going off to find some puny fleet of water warships.

He did not understand why his uncle couldn't think that way.

But no, there Iroh was, holding a lively conversation with the monk and the water tribe peasant boy, discussing battles and whatever other scraps of thought floated through their heads.

"No, Water Tribe ships are usually very small, fast crafts. We hollow them out, make them as light as possible. Can turn on a dime, though. I don't get the point of these big metal monsters you guys use."

"Firebenders on a wooden vessel? Wouldn't float for five minutes. Ours are mostly war ships, not for fishing or sailing."

"The airbenders never really built ships, but I'll bet you could design one that could go really really fast; I could just bend the wind into its sail." Aang thought out loud, distracted and feeling much better for the moment.

Sokka was surprised. He was also a little disturbed, by how easy it was to like this guy. _He's Fire Nation, for heaven's sake! You can't trust him, no matter how nice he seems to be!!_

But as they talked, dipping through the clouds on Appa, Iroh's friendly conversation attempts became increasingly hard to give monosyllabic answers to, and now, here he was, caught up with talking to the firebender. Aang was willing, as always, to make friends: just part of the kid's annoyingly good nature, Sokka supposed. He and the General had been chattering since they took off, heading out towards the sea to intercept Dad's fleet. He just wished they could fly faster: he knew the coordinates; he just didn't know how long this would take.

He cast a glance over at Zuko, who sat and didn't speak. He most definitely would never trust **him**, though. Not after what he had done to Aang, to them in general. Zuko happened to look up, and Sokka glared.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

"Toph, can we trust him?" Katara whispered as softly as possible.

She knew that the answer was a big, fat NO, but she may as well get her little "sister's" opinion in it as well.

They had touched down near a village at midday, somewhere in the endless forest, realizing that they would need supplies and food were they to go any farther. As much as Sokka had hated to stop, that is. And even considering that they had no money.

So she and Toph had gone into the village anyway, figuring that two young unarmed girls would draw much less attention than anyone else, trying to scrape up what they could. Do some favors or something. Sokka and Aang had gone, well, _"hunting_" in Sokka's words, _"foraging_" in Aang's. Just move quickly, we can't be here all day.

"I dunno, Sugarqueen," Toph said as she walked. "I don't think he was lying."

"I find that hard to believe."

"_I thought you had changed!"_ She had cried out, furious and hurt at her own stupidity.

"_I have changed."_

"Yeah, well, he has a weird vibration. I've never felt it before."

Toph considered it.

No, definitely a strange one. Sort of warm, with ridiculous highs and lows, strong and with a large range to play with. She wondered why. Maybe just because he was a firebender.

Another vibration that had been bothering her lately was Aang's. It was normally so light and free, scarcely detectable, like soft laughter. Toph always figured that it was so faint because he was an airbender: he was not so bound to the earth that Toph used as her window for the world. But it had been very heavy yesterday, and was still not back where it should have been. She had long memorized the heartbeats of all her friends, their rhythms: Katara's like the patter of rain, Sokka's like a war drum, Aang's reminiscent of a bird's wings catching the air.

Except, those bird wings usually beat frantically when the rainfall was nearby. So why hadn't it done so for the past few days? Toph knew she worried about Twinkletoes far more than she probably should: he was goofy, but he could take care of himself. Just like she could.

"Sir?" Katara asked a shopkeeper who was sweeping his front stoop. The man turned.

"What?"

"Umm, I was wondering how much those would cost." She pointed to the bundle of cooking supplies that sat next to the shop's door. The man sniffed.

"Probably more than you can afford, I'm afraid."

"Well, I can offer you…"

"No! No money, no sale."

"Step aside, Sugarqueen," Toph pushed around her. "Hey."

The man merely looked down at the girl's dark haired head, his crooked nose wrinkled.

"You stopped digging your well," Toph continued. She pointed to the man's side yard, where the work looked half-heartedly begun. His eyes followed the direction she indicated.

"I struck a huge rock. And the water is too far down; I probably won't be able to hit it. Why, how does that concern you?"

A hacking cough came from somewhere inside the little shop. Toph grinned.

"Someone sick?"

"My wife and son both. Now you see why I can't just give things away willy-nilly? Go on, take your bartering elsewhere."

Katara stepped in. "Well, how about we fix it for you?"

The man snorted, and motioned with the broom to get lost.

"No, seriously," Toph said, dodging his whacks. "If my sister…." she pointed to Katara, remembering the Earth King's Ball, "...if my sister _Kazoo_ and I can dig your well and help your family, will you promise to give us the stuff we need?"

Katara punched Toph lightly in the arm, but nodded vigorously in the shopkeeper's direction.

The man laughed again.

"Oh, I would love to see you try."

Suffice to say, they got what they needed.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sokka knew he had a knack for jamming himself into stupid varieties of trouble. Like catching fevers that made him delusional, getting stuck in that crevice with the saber tooth moose-lion cub, drinking the cactus juice ….so he should have expected what happened to happen.

Aang had been reaching under a bush, pulling up some mushrooms he claimed to be edible. Yeah, edible if you had three stomachs. Pleh. Sokka, meanwhile, had leaned into a thicket, trying to root out some real food to eat, when he had heard Aang shout in pain.

Aang had jerked out of the bush after the skunk-cat had bitten him, fallen backwards, and knocked Sokka head over heels into the bush.

Except, of course, it did not stop at the bush. Sokka kept tumbling, into the dark, through some kind of cave the leaves had been covering, landed on his face with a flurry of words thrown at Aang.

"Sorry, Sokka!" he called down. Trying to play it off innocent, hmpf.

So Sokka shouldn't have been surprised when, as he stood up, about a billion pairs of little yellow eyes had lit up all around him. And he shouldn't have been too shocked, as he scrambled up the cave slide and back into the daylight, to have swarms of snake-bats explode out of the stone formation, like demons escaping from a breach in Hell, high pitched little shrieks coming from them.

And he **wasn't** surprised to realize that they were the poisonous kind.

So now, here he was, loping them from the air as they flocked in, the size of his head, trying to bite and claw at him.

Aang knocked several chunks of earth free from the ground that he batted upwards with his staff, looking rather regretful at having to hurt the weird-looking creatures. He didn't want to kill anything, really….and then one thwapped him in the face with its large wing, and he swatted at least a dozen (of the hundreds) back with a sweep of air, urging Sokka to hurry up.

"Aacck!! Aang, kinda busy!!!" His boomerang knocked down several more.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko had wondered what was taking so long.

What were those fools up to?

Where had they gone?

What was that hideous screeching noise?

It was a shame he had let his curiosity override his aloofness, and was rather unprepared when he stepped into the clearing to find the air thick with vile little flying creatures, the Avatar and the Buffoon at the center of the living tornado.

"What in all the…"

One of the creatures had come diving down, and had skewered itself on Zuko's drawn sword as he thrust it upward, turning and hacking its mate from the air as well.

"Hey, Scarface, little help!!" the Buffoon called over. There was another massive gust of wind that tossed part of the flock into the trees, and Zuko waved the sword in another wide swoop, cutting and burning his way through to the two idiots.

"Oww!" Sokka yelped, as one of the things grabbed him by the hair. He clubbed it in the head, as Aang sent out a column of air that blew the leaves off the surrounding trees, and blasted the rest of the snake-bats back. They decided they had had enough, and shrunk back into the cave with enough shrieks and chitters to echo in Sokka's head for days.

The Water Tribe warrior heaved a sigh, picking pulpy remains out of his hair.

"Oh, well that's just swell. And we still don't have any food…"

He looked over at Zuko, who was in the process of yanking the bodies off of his sword. It almost looked like a big, ugly kebob….Sokka smiled slyly.

"Never mind, problem solved."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Sokka, this meat tastes a little tough." Katara commented, chewing thoughtfully on the dish she had cooked in her newly acquired pan.

"Hush up. It's good for you," Sokka shrugged, taking a generous bite.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

**A/N: Wow, this was a long one. The thing with the snake-bats, just some guy-friendship "bonding". Hahahaha.Well, anyway, I'll get them to Hakoda by the next chapter. Oh: a reviewer pointed out that Aang had been to the Eastern Air Temple before (where he met Appa). Sorry for the error! For some reason I thought he met him at the Southern Air Temple. Thanks for pointing that out: that's what reviews are for! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE READING! It would be even nicer if you reviewed….**

**The reference to the Serpent in the beginning: I think everybody got that (if not, read the Book of Genesis), and I know Avatar is an Eastern- themed show. But it just seemed really appropriate, considering how Azula turned Zuko from his guide and teacher, to fall into treachery by tempting him with something that only seemed appealing. Oh, and look at a picture of Katara holding Aang in the Season 2 Finale, after Azula hit him, then look at a picture of the Pieta, the statue of Mary holding Jesus the Messiah ( HINT HINT) after he came down from the Cross. I swear, they look frighteningly similar.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11. Wahoo. Now I'm on vacation and can type to my heart's content. And watch the Avatar episodes to make sure I get everything right…this show and this fan fic have taken over my liiiiifffffeee. That makes me indescribably happy. Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar and I probably never will, please don't depress me.

Chapter 11

"People of Ba Sing Se!" Azula shouted, out over the massive stone square that was filled with thousands of citizens. A city full of worthless refugees, really. Her voice ricocheted off the walls and structures, echoing back three-fold.

The voice of a conqueror, standing where no other firebender general in history had had the honor to.

"I am Princess Azula, daughter of your esteemed Lord Ozai of the Fire Nation, in whose honor I now claim this city."

The tumult was like a wave rising, a sea of shouts, cries of outrage, fear, panic, confusion, all meshing into one chaotic glory. The soldiers among the crowd subdued them, if just enough for Azula to continue.

"And there are several things I must point out to you, people of Ba Sing Se, if we are to all get along _nicely_."

She leaned forward, atop the endless stairs that led to the palace entrance, feet apart as though in a fighting stance. She grinned.

"First off, I want you to welcome the troops who will be arriving as gracious hosts. I have, as your ruler, the right to do whatever best serves this kingdom and you are to never forget that. If we are to seize your homes to better accommodate our defenses, so be it. If we are to starve you so that our soldiers may eat, so be it. My word is absolute."

Somewhere in the crowd, an infant's cry was abruptly stopped.

"Which brings me to my second point: give no shelter to rebels if you want to keep your head and those around you alive. There is no room for traitors within this kingdom, and we will see to that with all speed. In fact," she paused for effect, "there is a reward for any who will turn the rebels into my hand. Realize now that you will not evade me. Do I make myself clear?"

That seemed food for thought. Now the noise among the crowds was more of a constant babble, countless people turning to the one next to him or her and whispering.

"A reward?"

"How much, I wonder?"

"Qin, isn't your son involved with…"

"…my neighbor in the apartment, always keeps things secret, I think he might be…"

"No! No he's not! How dare you accuse…"

"Last week, of course. I saw them…."

"Where has the King gone?"

"We never should have come….."

"..I know a woman whose husband was…"

Azula was pleased as to how her words affected them, more puppets to string up. Nothing turned people away from each other like suspicion and money: they were the tickets to ruling. Drive a wedge between those you conquer and they will never have the time to resist you.

"**Scum! Murderer!"**

Azula's head perked up just the barest inch. _That_ one had been clear enough.

Her sharp eyes picked out where the commotion was in the crowd, as two Dai Li agents carted a struggling man of middle age forward. Up the steps they dragged him, as he fought and clawed savagely all the way. A woman set up a wail and the crowd swept back in, to fill the pathway the soldiers had cleared.

They threw him down at Azula's feet, and she seized his face in one hand so hot to the touch it almost burned his skin. The amber eyes, dragon's eyes, bored into his.

"Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Nothing, fire witch. You should take your murderous father's name and go."

Azula laughed coldly.

"Yes, I'll be sure to. I suppose that's a 'no' from you, then? Will you make it so hard to get along, hmm?" Her nails just barely dug into the man's cheek, drawing a single drop of blood.

A pallid quiet, like death, had silenced the crowd. A shroud of anticipation, a thousand held breaths. Now Azula's voice would compete with no one's. Except the rebel's voice, of course.

"My allegiance is to the Earth Kingdom, and it will be forever more."

"Shame," Azula shrugged. "Take him to the dungeons. We'll have a public execution by tomorrow. Sound pleasant?"

The man spit in her face, her sharp, pale, now rage-filled face. "Sounds **perfect**."

Azula wiped her forehead as the man continued to speak.

"You firebenders think you'll get away with the hatred you bring. Think that power is the only thing at stake in this game."

His face was dark, his eyes fierce and glinting, chips of obsidian.

"You won't for much longer; those who are treated unjustly will at last be heard, and your judgment will come, and then you'll be…."

Azula had heard enough, and killed him with a huge blast of lightning that broke free of her core and smote him dead, a blackened corpse limp at her feet.

"Let that be lesson number one to you," she spoke to the crowd, kicking the body away.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

In the mass of shoving elbows and pushing bodies, Jin was but one of them trying to get a good look at the Fire Nation Princess. And of course, the dark-green eyed girl had held her breath, cried out in fear in unison with everyone else, as the firebender killed the man. She had never seen the 'cold fire' being bent before: few in the crowd had, and she could almost taste the terror that now filled the people.

Jin glared at the woman, repulsed by how low a human could sink. No, she corrected herself. How could they rightfully be called humans? After all the death and devastation their nation had brought, firebenders were not human: they were monsters in poor disguises.

Murderers, all of them. How did they live with themselves?

Jin hurried away, ducking through the throng of people. Running home to her mother, to try and get her older brother out of the city, into hiding, anything.

He had always been a rebellious one.

_Murderers._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hakoda had scarcely believed it when they first came into view, a fast-moving cloud framed against the afternoon sky. Until one of his men had pointed it out, actually, Hakoda was worried that he was seeing things, wanting so much to see his children one last time before battle. The Fire Ships seemed to have pulled back and evaded him.

But no, it was really them, riding the Avatar's huge bison and descending, their shouts ringing in his ears to mix with his own. And as they landed in the water amongst the fleet of six Water Tribe ships, sending up a wave that rocked the entire boat, he had grabbed them both in tightly, just to make certain they were really there.

"**DAD!"** Katara had cried out, the spitting image of her mother and blinking back a few tears. Sokka acted as though he too hadn't seen Hakoda in several years time: one brief reunion in between wasn't enough for him.

"Dad, I was worried we wouldn't find you before…"

"Sokka what are you doing here?" He laughed, trying to compose himself in front of his men. They seemed not to notice, greeting the Southern Water Tribe children like their own, a huge family coming together.

Zuko observed this commotion, as a distant bystander who had no idea what the feeling was like. The father, he welcomed his son and daughter with more affection than Ozai had shown even Azula, let alone _him_. How could a warrior bear his heart like that and still be a respectable leader? It was beyond Zuko's understanding.

Toph, meanwhile, was reaching out and gathering in the sounds and rushing heartbeats like a golden rain. So happy, so loving, like the friendship she shared with them, but slightly different. It warmed her like a cup of tea, and she smiled as she heard Katara and Sokka speaking over each other excitedly. For a few seconds, the war didn't exist to them. Or to her, for that matter, as she shared a little piece of the good still left in the world.

Katara finally turned to Aang, who was rocking back and forth patiently on the balls of his feet, staff over one shoulder.

"An honor to meet you again, Avatar," Hakoda said solemnly, frowning for a brief moment at the old man and the young warrior with the massive scar. "Why have you come?"

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

The account of the overthrow of Ba Sing Se had taken a much longer time than they had expected, debating on where exactly to begin the story, and then having to backtrack and explain something else. It nearly ended up being their entire story since the North Pole, but Katara knew that would have to wait.

It wasn't until Hakoda discovered that Zuko and Iroh were royal firebenders when things got very difficult. She had tried to avoid the fact, really she had, but it was essential to the point.

The uproar it caused was predictable, and even her father had instinctively reached for his spear, to spring to his feet. Zuko's hand had flown to the hilt of his sword as well, ready to face that action, but Katara had pinned down Hakoda's hand before any blood could be spilt, a strained look on her face.

"Dad, just wait! They're," _Well, Iroh is_ "on our side! They helped us escape from the Fire Princess."

"Katara, that doesn't give me very much reason to trust them, as gracious an act as it may have seemed to be. How can you just let them aboard this ship? And Sokka, why did you trust them?"

"I have **no** idea, Dad."

"So who are you, Fire Nation spies? What is your business with my son and daughter?"

Well, 'business with the Avatar' would have been more appropriate, but Hakoda was first concerned about his children in the company of the enemy.

"If you'll allow me, Hakoda," Iroh spoke, reaching out a hand to shake as a peace offering, "my nephew and I are accompanying the Avatar so that I may teach him firebending. In doing so, he'll be able to face the…."

"Hakoda! Sorry about the timing," Bato suddenly shouted from the helm, "but we've spotted the Fire Nation fleet."

Hakoda stood, momentarily forgetting the conversation.

"Well then, we'll just have to engage them."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Four Fire Nation ships, six Water Tribe ships. The war vessels were not massive, built for maneuvering and light skirmishes, but Hakoda knew that the fire ship had more than enough artillery to sink their fleet should they be spotted at the wrong time.

And, as the sun had dipped into the sea and vanished, a full moon made their job no easier.

"Ready the tangle mines," Hakoda called hoarsely, hefting one onto the side of the ship.

They had to lay out the mine field quickly, hoped to draw the naval ships in amongst it. If only luck was ever in their favor. Then the detonators would go off, tangle the propellers of the warships, and with any fortune whatsoever….

But they were not to be that fortunate, as Hakoda discovered.

As they dropped the buoyant mines into the water, a screeching sound was heard, after an ominous implosion. Like a flaming comet, a projectile streaked through the night and crashed into the water just a few feet from one of the ships.

The small fleet had turned about, and was rushing over the water towards them. A second chunk of hot metal, tossed from a catapult on one of the ship's foredecks, took off the mast above Sokka's head.

"Dad, we have to do something! The mines may not work!"

"Well, what are we gonna do?" Aang shouted back to Sokka, as a blast struck the water, sending a wave of it onto the deck of the sailing ship.

"We have to try and sink them or something, I dunno…"

"Hit the rear end of the ship, beneath the afterdeck near the stern. That's were the boiler is."

The voice came from an extremely unexpected source, as Kuei reminded everybody that he existed. The Earth King continued.

"This style of ship is very prone to blows in that area: one good hit will set off a chain reaction, it'll sink it in minutes."

_Great spirits, he's good for something…._Sokka thought.

Again came a missile, but this time Aang leapt out to meet it, exerting a roar and a massive blow of wind that turned it from its course, back around to strike the side of the ship leading the fleet. He floated down again, face set and determined.

"Aang," Katara cried suddenly, "you can board that ship and try to get to the engines!"

"I'm coming with you, Twinkletoes," Toph interrupted, snatching the back of Aang's tunic as he prepared to take flight again.

"Toph, there's no earth where I'm going…"

"That won't matter! Let's go!"

Knowing better than to ask questions in the midst of battle, Aang hooked Toph atop the glider, leapt from the starboard side of the ship and shot into the air, dodging fires all the way. Katara's thoughts were flowing faster now.

"Dad, Iroh, I need you to get onto the second ship! Overtake it and use the catapults to sink the other one!"

_Okay, so it's a lot harder than it sounds, but still…_

She only half- knew what she was doing, but with the adrenalin rushing in her veins, there was no stopping. "Take the boats around, use the mines! Sokka, have Appa drop you off onto the deck and clear the way!"

Hakoda was already at the helm, turning the fleet about as they leapt off of the ship that had lost its sail and was beginning to sink.

"What about the third one??" He hollered.

Katara sprinted to the bow, considered for a split second. And she threw herself over the edge, meeting the water and swirling it under her aboard a disc of ice.

"That one's mine."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aang swept high, climbing up on the staircase of air, silhouetted against the moon briefly as the came over the ship, where Kuei had pointed out.

"You sure about this, Toph?!" he cried over blasts. A firebender on deck shot a long burst of flame out at them that Aang pulled up higher to evade.

"Just don't let me fall, Twinkletoes!!!"

And the pair dove.

Toph landed with a vibrating crash in amongst the fire soldiers, knees absorbing the impact, and she turned her focus to under her feet. Aang touched down a moment later, and immediately blew back a column of flame that had been streaking towards the blind earthbender.

To his astonishment, Toph rooted herself, dug her hands down to the wrists into the steel deck, and began to viciously tear at the metal like she was ripping through sheets of paper.

"Just hold 'em off!" he heard over the groaning and clanging of the metal Toph was tearing aside.

An armored solider rushed towards him, and Aang kicked up a gust under him that sent the man flying out and over the side of the ship, as he ducked several quick blasts of fire to his left.

"Get off the ship!" he begged, as he met a blow from a sword. He wound a cyclone of air around Toph that repulsed the flurries of arrows being shot at her. "It's gonna blow up! Please!"

No one was listening, of course. This was the Avatar: the reward on his head was well worth the risk.

Aang called to the ocean underneath him, and it responded with a snake of water shooting up, across the deck and washing more men overboard.

The Avatar kept fighting.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Katara knew she would have to be insane not to be scared right now, scared positively witless at the idea of facing down a Fire Nation ship on her own.

So she was very glad to confirm her "sound state of mind" as she rushed across the temporarily calm surface, a trail of foam behind her and the wind whipping her face, pushing the water aside for her.

She would have to do this fast, have to strike the ship at its weak spots, use her surroundings to her advantage. So how to start?

_How about stopping it from crushing you before you can actually do anything???_

Good point.

Katara halted her advancement, forcing a pillar of ice up under her, something more substantial to work on. She twisted, wrapping the ice around her feet to strengthen her stance, and put out her arms, one single command shooting from her thoughts and into the water.

**STOP!!!!!!**

The response was beyond anything she had been expecting, a massive push of water that broadsided the boat and turned it away from her father's fleet, tipping it over at a sharp angle.

_Gotta protect Dad and Sokka! Give them time to work out their plan! I don't plan to lose another battle with the Fire Nation; I won't give them that satisfaction._

Katara raised both arms and began to spiral them around, manipulating long streams that drove through the water in speeding waves and sliced into the hull. They turned like silver dancers as she hammered away, push and pull, push and pull, push and pull.

Linked with the water as she called it and bent it to her will, oblivious to the barbaric arrows that kept missing their mark around her.

A cut appeared in the heavy metal underside of the ship, another as the water struck. One found the edge of the steel plating, tearing it away as Katara probed for cracks in the warship's armor.

She whipped the water trails back, using her whole body now to twist the ocean upwards, raising it and desperately trying not to break her focus. One of the arrows burned her leg as it flicked past. **Don't lose focus**.

_Come on then, show me what you can do!!!_

Around herself she twisted, yanking her element into the rising, cool inferno of water, a waterspout like a work of art that roared and rushed, dancing up as she spun it like a top.

And then let it plough forward, whipping in a curved path and into the ship's side yet again, the blow finally breaking the hull that she had cut into fragments.

Shocked at her own power, the bender pulled the water and shoved it back again, and the ship turned over on its side, dipping low into the water as she still spun it. Katara allowed a small smirk, as sweat ran down her face despite the cool night

She was Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, and the moon was full.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

The mines had worked perfectly: they had lost two more ships in the process, but the vessel's advancement had stopped, letting Sokka fly down on Appa and begin to fight his way over to the catapult.

Knocking firebender heads, there was nothing quite like it.

The moment would have been perfect if not for _him,_ shoved onto the bison at the last second by his uncle. But Zuko was the only one who probably knew how to actually work the trebuchets, and that was what he needed.

"Behind you, Scarface!"

"I'm aware of it, peasant!" Zuko snapped back, pushing through a blast of fire and felling the solider quickly. Another, armed with a sword, crashed into his blade and jabbed. How convenient: the sword nearly matched the one he had.

Zuko hooked the tip of his weapon under the handle and sent it spinning out of the man's grasp, tumbling to catch it. The balance in both hands was refreshingly familiar, and he countered another blow.

A boomerang spiraled through the air, knocking off a solider that had gone over to the ship's side to undo the grappling hooks that appeared out of the dark. He fell, and over the side of the ship came Hakoda to join his son, able to fight back- to- back for the first time.

It would have been touching, had they not been fighting for their lives.

Sokka and Zuko pushed their way through, getting to the siege weapon finally.

"Load it and use that lever to bring it around!" Zuko shouted over the uproar, and shot a flame from his hand that ignited the oil the scrap projectile was coated in. Hollering wordlessly to Sokka, he cut the ropes constraining the throwing arm, and it struck true to its mark.

Zuko could not believe what he was doing, a hostile takeover of "his" own ships?

_You could turn on them now, you know, go ahead; you know you want to…_

A brief image of that bloody little silver dagger shot across his vision.

He'd made his choice, and for once he would hold to it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Toph blew out a gust of exhaustion, peeling away the metal. Earth was so much more obedient! This stuff was stubborn, but not as stubborn as her.

She tore away one last layer of steel, felt the heat of what she had been looking for. With a huff, she snatched a sharp piece of shrapnel and chucked it into the heart of the ship. That accomplished, she leapt out of the trench she had carved, slamming into Aang as she did.

"Twinkletoes, let's **go**!"

He was spinning a stream of water around, trying to wash everybody overboard before the explosion could spread. He turned and grabbed onto her, getting a running start and unfolding the glider again. Jumped, astride the wind….

BANG

The cloud of flame burst from the hole, sending cinders and metal into the stratosphere. And another one followed it, more towards the center of the ship, a mushroom cloud shooting into the sky. And one last one, doubled up on the other, which destroyed the front of the ship as well and sent flaming debris everywhere.

"Well, that went smoothly," Aang coughed, spitting charcoal black smoke.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

**A/N: Wow, another long one. I realized that I needed a major Katara-centric butt kicking scene (I think she got a little shortchanged in the season finale, not being able to fight Azula for very long) along with some metal bending from Toph. Next chapter, expect Hakoda to help them plan their strategy and send them off, and a bit on Suki. Oh, I got a question: are there any Mai fans? (Ya know, the solemn girl with the knives?) Let me know, because it will probably determine her fate in this fic….thanks for reading! Have a happy holiday**.


	12. Chapter 12

Here we go with Chapter 12. Wow, this is going a lot faster than I had anticipated that it would. I just want to finish it before Season 3….I'm going to have to work faster. Since no one really reads the Author's Notes at the beginning, I'll just put what I have to say at the end, slap on a disclaimer, and go on. **Disclaimer**: I don't own Avatar. I don't own anything having to do with Avatar, and if I were making money off this I would be out buying Christmas presents.

Chapter 12

Suki's world pulled back into focus very gradually, throwing the excess sleep off her and trying to turn on her senses. And trying to locate the limbs that were reporting all this pain! She groaned very softly.

"Oh, thank the spirits! I was afraid you wouldn't pull out of it!" a somewhat familiar voice said ebulliently, from somewhere behind her. Where was she??

Suki was just flexible enough to turn her head, and saw the woman that she had intervened for back on the road. The woman was sitting at her bedside, seeming to be busy with something in her hands.

"Where am I?" was Suki's first question, as she graciously gulped down the water she was offered.

"Hmm, I would say that we're a few days' trip from Geming, flanking the Hotaru River. It's a good thing you saved my wagon, or else I would have had nowhere to put you!"

Wagon, eh? Suki got one elbow under her torso just enough look around. Yes, she was laying inside the small covered wagon, the canvas overhead letting in some browned sunlight. Okay, second question.

"How long have I been out for?"

"A good day or so," the young woman responded, thinking about it. She tore a piece of bread off a loaf and offered it to Suki. "I was worried that I was going to lose you, for a while. You got yourself quite torn up."

The woman smiled disarmingly. She had a fairly pleasant face, high cheekbones and a straight nose that had been slightly freckled by the sun. Dark brown, large eyes, feathery fine hair swept up messily atop her head. A dark bruise spotted one of her cheeks from where the bandit had struck her.

"I'm sorry," Suki said, making to sit up further, "but I cannot come with you: I need to find someone." She had been planning to stand up, but gasped in pain and quickly went down again, clutching herself with gritted teeth. The woman gave her a sympathetic look.

"You won't be able to travel on your own for a few days at least, give the worst wounds time to heal up. I'm sorry to get in the way of your plans..."

Suki considered becoming irate, but checked herself. This woman had saved her life.

"So why are you going to Geming?" Suki knew very little about it, except that the city was enemy-occupied territory.

"Delivering herbs to the apothecaries. The Fire Nation general who runs the city has me bring them in every few months or so."

"Oh…." An unpleasant look was still on Suki's face, but it was of a different variety. The healer laughed.

"Had a run in with the Fire Nation lately, I see?"

When Suki's face remained set, the woman's laughter died off awkwardly, and she took another bite out of the stale bread.

A gap of quiet, and then the woman offered out a hand.

"My name is Daiyu, by the way."

"Suki of Kyoshi Island. Nice to meet you."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The gray light to the east eventually gave way to dawn, throwing light over the wreckage of the naval battle; Only one of the previous four fire ships was still afloat, the Water Tribe fleet was wrecked and badly damaged in the explosions.

Fortunately, the casualties faired much better: Aang and Katara had been able to fish the protesting soldiers out of the water, more to quiet their consciences than anything else.

So now Katara, with dark smudges under her normally bright eyes, was trying to heal the gaping wound on a firebender's back, cut by a piece of shrapnel from the ship Toph and Aang had destroyed. It wasn't going very well.

"Get away from me, you little inbred scum!" He spat at Katara, struggling with the bonds he was tied up in. On his stomach on the deck, he tried to roll over and look her in the eye.

"Fine, do you want me to leave it? Come back again if you die, which you will if you don't let me heal this."

"Sooner die than be taken prisoner by the likes of you," he snarled, a snort of flame coming from his nostrils.

Katara rolled her eyes. Men.

Hakoda was sitting nearby, dressing a few minor wounds but feeling rather dazed. Spirits, what had **happened** to his two children, his boyish Sokka and his little Katara, in the years he had been away? He felt like the father who turns around, distracted for a second, and misses his child's first steps. Or something of that magnitude.

He had always known Sokka was a warrior, of course. A brave, responsible boy, who had the potential to be a great leader. But seeing his son last night, under fire and still fighting off the forces that outnumbered him, it had been a startling call of reality. And the strategy Sokka had proposed just now: his son had a commander's way of thinking, certainly.

And his daughter, whom he had left barely able to make a few waves, barely able to freeze a snowball in her hands. It had been the most spectacular display of waterbending Hakoda had ever seen, and it had been at Katara's hand. _His_ Katara. He looked over at her now, trying to repair the damage done to a firebender solider.

Amazing.

"So Dad," Sokka said suddenly, breaking in through Hakoda's thoughts, "where can you send us?"

Hakoda looked at his son, frowning ever so faintly. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was send them into more danger, even if they had proved themselves perfectly capable of handling it…..

He sighed.

"In the City of Geming: I have a friend there, a man who's part of a large network of rebels. I met him when we traveled to the city last spring, and he may be able to help you do what you need. His name is Aiguo."

"Great. Anywhere else you can think of?" Sokka made a scratch on his map.

One sees so much, with two years of traveling and battling, meets so many people, sees places wrought with despair and hopelessness. So where was there still a spark of defiance, still some flames for his son and the Avatar to fan?

"You might have some luck at Katsu. It's a port city, very crucial stop where a lot of the Fire Navy gets their weaponry. Lead by a bit of an arrogant fool, I have to say."

"Oh….Dad, what are you going to do?"

Hakoda stood up, walking over to look down at the hull of the ship. The dent the airbender had put in it was being hammered out as they spoke.

"I think the idea of knocking a few pillars out from under the Fire Nation seems like a good idea. I may bring the fleet around to the Northern Shore and see what I can do there."

"You ought to keep this ship," Sokka commented, running one sooty hand along the side. "You can use it to get right in with a big fleet, and then BOOM! All yours. Perfect for stealth, huh?"

Hakoda smiled. And Sokka was still, underneath, the same boy he had left at the South Pole.

"I was thinking the same thing."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Aang kept the ice platform moving, trying to prevent Toph from slipping as she pulled the metal dent out, and smoothing the plating along the side.

"Toph, that was incredible," he remembered to tell her. Ripping into the steel like that, how had she done it?

_Metal is just a purified form of earth…_

"Well thanks, Twinkletoes. Here, don't let me slip, I'm almost done." Her voice just let on how exhausted she was, as she made one last sweeping motion with her hands. The metal was back to normal, its last imperfection gone. She shook her head to keep her eyes from shutting.

"Alright, that's it."

"Oh good. Let's go…"

But Toph caught him in the action of pulling out the glider, somehow seeming like she was actually looking at him. Pale, ghostly green and gray. Her face, though very tired, was serious and concerned.

"Twinkletoes, is something bothering you?"

Toph knew the answer, but wanted to give Aang the chance to answer on his own. It had been bugging her again.

When they had landed on the deck of the seized ship after the explosion, of course, Katara had rushed over to them: snatched them both into a hug, a sister's hug, asking if they were okay, saying how worried she had been, typical Katara stuff.

Toph always struggled and protested in Katara's embraces, but very deep down, Toph knew that she enjoyed them. The waterbender's arms around her, tight and welcoming and protecting.

And even though Toph Bei Fong could look after herself, it was a comfort. A comfort to know that **should** she ever need that protection, it was right there.

But Aang, Aang whose vibrations usually glowed in proximity with Katara's, had shrunk back. The reaction had been nearly imperceptible: if she wasn't blind and so in tune with such things, Toph herself would have overlooked it. As things would have it, Toph was blind.

"Yes! I'm fine! Why does everybody keep asking?"

"Because we know you better than that, Twinkletoes. Something's been eating at you. And it's none of my business, but I think you should know that I'm on to you: When you're ready to stop ignoring that, come back to me."

Then she allowed Aang to pull her in, and they returned to the deck, both feeling at odds with the other.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Katara finished the job, trying to turn her ears off. They were practically _bleeding_ from the curses that were still streaming from the wounded man's mouth. She had more than half a mind to wash him overboard and just let him drown, but she bridled her anger as she tied the bandages up.

"Okay, take him to the brig with the other guys," she was finally able to say, looking over at several Water Tribe warriors whose burns she had already treated. Spirits, she was so drained….

The men came over to pull the man to his feet (as roughly as they possibly could), when the firebender shouted at the girl, who had turned on him and was walking away.

"Water wench, why don't you try this?"

And he kicked a blast of fire upward, centered on Katara's back and roaring towards her.

Hakoda shouted as the flare caught his gaze, watched as his daughter turned wide-eyed to face it……

And watched it suddenly disappear, swirled into a vortex and shrunk into a few harmless sparks, gone as quickly as it had been formed.

And there was the boy with the scar, standing in its path, one hand still out and an agitated expression on his face. He turned sharply to face Katara. She moved backwards from him half a step as he did.

"There. Now we're even."

He walked over to rejoin his uncle and finish his breakfast.

Katara was dumbfounded. 'Now we're even?' What could that possibly….oh, the arrow back in Ba Sing Se? He remembered that? But what was the more interesting bit was that he had been indebted to her, and had _honored_ it. Imagine, Zuko actually having a sliver of honor in him, with all that "I must restore my honor" business. Incredible.

Hakoda was also rather shocked, as he watched his men knock the firebender solider unconscious and drag him away. The boy had saved his daughter. Although it still gave Hakoda very little reason to accept the Fire Prince, it was a start. Maybe.

"Did I miss something? I apologize; I was just admiring this ship. The craftsmanship is quite exquisite!"

Kuei came out onto the deck, having been poking around the cabins and the control rooms, the boilers, everywhere. He had only studied these things in books, after all. Never seen a ship, never seen an ocean, and most _definitely_ never seen a battle.

You miss a lot, living in a box (or in the Earth King's case, a palace.) He smiled benignly at them, and Bosco, who hadn't left his side, yawned. The bear shuffled over to where Appa had put himself, and flopped down. Kuei kept speaking.

"I always wanted to work one of these things, looking at the blueprints in the library…"

A light switched on in Sokka's eyes.

"Your majesty," Sokka asked daringly, "you wouldn't, by any chance, know how to actually operate this ship, would you?"

Kuei's smile broadened.

"Oh, that would be a delight! I remember memorizing all of the…."

"Great! Dad, does anybody with you know how to run a fire ship?"

"No," Hakoda shook his head, figuring out where this conversation was heading.

"So that settles it! Dad, meet His Royal Earth Majesty Kuei, monarch to the free Earth Kingdom and your new helmsman."

Hakoda raised an eyebrow, and Kuei reacted as though Sokka had told him his birthday was coming early. The feeling of being useful was the most wonderful one in the world, undoubtedly.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Boarding Appa again was hard, wishing the warriors the best of luck as they were given supplies and words of encouragement. Katara and Sokka had attached themselves to Hakoda, knowing that it wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair to get him back for so short a time and then have to say goodbye again. But they were warriors, all three of them, and they understood that duty to what's right is rarely easy.

That didn't mean they couldn't be sad, though.

"Be careful," was all Hakoda managed to say, begging the spirits to watch over all that he had left in the world. And he watched them climb onto the bison, shoot up into the blue sky, and recede until he couldn't see them.

Hakoda kept waving, though, and tucked the moment neatly into his heart should he ever need it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Yes! Another chapter down! (Does the Happy Dance.) Oh, and people! I know that that could have been interpreted as a "Zutara" moment, but don't flip out just yet. I saw it more as, at this point, Zuko showing that he honored the fact that Katara had saved him, and to put him on the very very very long road to gaining the gang's trust. They have to be friends first, too!. Oh, and it looks like Mai has a lot of fans. Good, that works. Expect to see some firebending lessons soon. Thanks for reading!!!**


	13. Chapter 13

Jeez, I have nothing to do. I should get a job, but then as soon as school starts again I'd have to quit, because it takes up so much of my time. Here's Chapter 13. On with the show!

Chapter 13 

Jin had been scared already, already anxious and worried as she hurried through the streets of Ba Sing Se, heart pounding. But it wasn't until she reached her friend's home, which she passed every day, when she began to really panic.

Huian's shop, were she and her family had lived for the past ten years: it had been destroyed. The door broken down, merchandise flung about everywhere, but nothing stolen, a livelihood torn to pieces.

And there was nobody there.

Dead quiet save for Jin's footsteps, she stepped carefully over the toppled table, the one she and Huian had drank tea and played games at since they were young. What had happened?

But Jin was afraid that she knew, as she mounted the stairs up to Huian's apartment at the back of the shop. Huian's father, he had always been outspoken against the Fire Nation. And in the last city on the continent where he had been able to freely, he had always been rallying against them. Though Jin had never known for sure, it was widely suspected that Huian's family was part of some sort of resistance.

And now they had paid the price.

Jin was in their home now, to discover that the soldiers had left nothing untouched. She opened a door, but it fell off its hinges. Nothing here but the ghosts of war and betrayal, she thought. The smell of Huian's mother's perfume, there was still a hint of it in the air, a soft jasmine scent.

Jin started to cry.

She couldn't help it. How much longer could this continue, this war, this suffering? It was also a tug on her heart, as she absentmindedly righted a fallen chair and thought of her brother.

_This will come to your home too, if you do not act soon._

Oh spirits, she had to hurry.

And she would have, would have escaped from that ominous place, when suddenly she heard a faint sound. A scraping along a wooden floor, just the barest movement. Jin turned, now as quiet as she could possibly be, and slunk along the hall, looking into the rooms. She should have called out, but her fear had stopped up her throat effectively.

When she and Huian had still been small enough, they had loved to sneak into a tiny little crawlspace that was hidden in the wall, the back wall of the bedroom upstairs. The edges of the slat were almost impossible to spot unless you were looking for them, and even then it was difficult. They had tucked themselves away in there, in the musty, hot, smelly dark, just for the thrill of hiding out.

The memory came back to Jin as she knelt down on the floor, tentatively reaching out and pulling the slat away with a burst of dust, flooding the cramped space with light.

"AHHHHHH!!!!"

A small and terribly frightened face shot out at her, as she too screamed in surprise. A shaking body scrambled to get out and past her, kicking and thrashing.

"Get away! Leave me alone! Leave Dad alone! Get out get out **get out**!!!" the child cried.

Jin had enough sense in her, after the shock, to grab the little boy and shake him a few times. Yes, it was him alright.

"Qiu! Qiu! Calm down, it's alright! It's only me!"

The boy's eyes, a fairer shade of green than Jin's, blinked a few times, tears forming quickly.

"J-jin?"

She nodded at Huian's little brother, unable to do anything else. The boy burst out again.

"Jin! They came for Dad! They took him away! Mom put me in the crawlspace, and told me not to make a sound, not to speak, and then I heard them coming in and things breaking and Huian crying and soldiers laughing but I couldn't come out and I wouldn't and I…"

"Okay! Okay! Try and breathe! When did that happen?"

"Last night," Qiu hiccupped, in a teary daze.

Jin grabbed him by the hand and began to walk them down the stairs again, back through the trashed shop. Qiu didn't want to go out, shaking and clinging to the door.

"Qiu, please listen to me. We have to go to my brother now, alright?"

"Gen? W-w-why?"

_To help him escape! To help him get as far away from this as possible, to get all of us away and never come back, run as fast as we can._

The little boy's eyes bored into her own.

Her grip on his thin, shaking shoulders tightened, but he seemed not to notice.

He looked very much like Huian, everybody always said.

"So that he can help us get your family back, of course," Jin said softly, and walked out the door with Qiu hanging close behind.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

To Iroh's delight, it was the perfect training arena. A clear, rocky area that the bison (Appa, he believed it was named) had landed in, after flying for a good part of the day. The waterbender and her brother were bickering over the campfire, and the little earthbender was sitting cross-legged, waiting for something to happen.

The sunset was at a perfect angle as it lowered itself closer to the earth, and Iroh glanced over at his new student. The boy seemed to be excited about it, in a sort of subdued and dignified way, as he walked about ten paces to stand opposite the Dragon of the West. The young Avatar (him, General Iroh, teaching the Avatar!) turned and faced out.

"Mr. Iroh, sir, should we get started?"

"Of course we should. And 'Iroh' will be just fine."

The boy sighed, and fidgeted a bit. Iroh caught something in the boy's eyes.

"Nervous?"

"Yes," the boy answered without hesitation. "I am."

Iroh thought for a second on that, trying to remember when he had first started learning firebending. It seemed so impossibly long ago! And he had been with a trainer, of course, a royal employee of his father to drill the skills into him. Had he, too, been scared?

"Well, fire **can** be intimidating. You need to tame it: you need to remember, always, that its nature is to spread and grow, and sometimes it slips out of your control. Remember that: tame the flame."

Iroh laughed. It rhymed! He was normally terrible at poetry. Aang laughed as well.

"That's really different from airbending. We were taught to treat the air like a friend, to always acknowledge its superior strength and humble ourselves to it."

"Ah, well, the friendship part comes after you tame it, with fire. Disciplining your fire is the hardest part: everything else is just steps forward."

"Okay." The Avatar let out another sigh to clear his head.

Iroh got into his stance, casting a sideways look over at his nephew. Zuko was watching, trying to be inconspicuous about it, but still watching. Iroh motioned him over to join the lesson, but Zuko's eyes only narrowed. He stayed were he was. Oh well. You have to work up from somewhere.

"So, do you know what the key to firebending is?"

Aang thought. What was it that Jeong Jeong had said? Oh, right.

"The breath," he answered. After a few seconds, "Is that right?"

"Completely," Iroh replied warmly. "Very good. And how about the source of your energy?"

Alright, so where was his fire chakra located? Aang tasted onion and banana juice at the memory. "I think it's in your stomach, isn't it?"

"Ah, you see? You're well on your way! Now, why don't you work on your breath for a few moments? Get everything flowing: find your energy and focus on it."

Aang closed his eyes and obeyed. He wouldn't get impatient this time; he had already learned that lesson the hard way. Iroh continued to speak, and his tone reminded Aang of Monk Gyatso's, still there in his memory.

"You see, firebending is very different in that you don't use the world around you to do it. Instead, you need to pull it out from within yourself. That's why it's a very emotion-based style, because emotions are a form of energy."

Zuko unconsciously nodded, remembering being told that many times. He had never been able to disconnect himself from his emotions, however, in order to actually bend lightning. Redirecting it was, of course, different that producing it. No matter how hard he tried, he was never able to turn himself into a machine, a simple vessel. Why was that? Azula could do it. And Uncle Iroh, who was nothing like Azula in personality, he could manage it...

Aang stayed focused, trying to dim all the other distractions flying around his brain. It was hard, but he thought he got it. Okay, there was his energy, somewhere in his center. Now what? Aang took another careful breath.

In and out. In and out. Just like with waterbending, with push and pull. Those were more two-sided than earthbending, which was all push. And air? Aang wasn't sure how to categorize it. Air had no real stylized commands to it: it was pure freedom.

"Alright, have you got that?" Iroh asked.

Aang only nodded, keeping focused on the breath. Stay focused! He wondered how much meditating would help this.

"Good! Excellent! Now, I want you to reach into that energy, but don't take more than a pinch of it."

Aang made a slightly scrunched face, and Iroh was abruptly reminded of Lu Ten, teaching him at this age, and seeing his son making faces like that when he focused. His son would have made an excellent teacher.

"Now what?"Aang questioned softly.

"Hold it. Hold it right were it is. It will want to escape, I can tell you that."

Boy, did it ever! Once he had made a conscious effort to reach into the energy, it all wanted to come bursting out at once. Aang took a huge breath and forced the tide back down. _Listen to me so no one gets hurt, got it?_ It tried to struggle free again.

But Aang held it, that pool of gold. The anticipation was killing him, and Toph felt his hear rate speed up from where she sat.

"Do you have it under control now?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Then let it go, just that little bit from before. You have showed it that you are its master, now you can release it."

And Aang did, with another great breathe.

Out of his fingers came….nothing but air. The burst knocked him backwards and onto his back.

What?

"Huh? I don't understand it! It felt like I was doing it right!!!"

Iroh was standing over him when Aang opened his eyes, smiling and yanking him to his feet. "Don't worry. It takes more than a few tries. But if you've gotten the hang of earth already, your elemental opposite, then I'm sure fire will come easier….if you let it."

Aang walked back to where he had been standing, took the same stance, and started over again.

"Is waterbending anything like that?" Sokka asked through a mouthful of whale jerky. Oh, glorious whale jerky! It had been so long.

"Not really. With waterbending, it's all about the heart." Katara answered, taking some of the jerky from him. "Push and pull, yin and yang."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko woke before all of the others, with the sky a dusky rose in color. He stood up cautiously, looking around at their sleeping faces, and walked away from the camp quietly, taking his swords with him.

After climbing up the gradual stony face, he finally seated himself atop one of the rocky platforms. They had set up in some sort of canyon, and now Zuko was able to get an unblocked view of the storm of color to the east, a burst of red and pink that changed to lavender and back into navy blue overhead. And there was the sun again, a shard of flame on the knife edge of the horizon.

He shifted slightly and closed his eyes, drawing a breath of the morning air and letting it go again. His energy shifted as well, waking itself up. The action turned his thoughts to his uncle's lessons with the Avatar.

What would it be like to learn firebending as the Avatar now was? As not a first, but a second element? It had always been a natural reaction for him. He had never really needed to think about the process, even if it had not come easily at first. Maybe that was why lightning was so difficult, because it required a lot of mental order and understanding that Zuko seemed unable to get a hold of.

His next breath was more of a frustrated grunt.

So then what was airbending like, he had to wonder. Waterbending, earthbending. The people were certainly different. He had never really cared to know about them prior: living as a prince before his banishment, he had always just thought of them as the 'others'.

The non-firebenders, the inferior kind who manipulated inferior elements to fire's precise sophistication. And airbenders especially, who had been wiped out a century before he was even born: he always figured that they must have been the weakest, for his ancestors to kill them all. They would never be able to do such a thing to the firebenders! No, firebenders were made something stronger. Well, save one airbender from his childhood stories.

His father had told him very few. As a child, Zuko's only hope of hearing one was if he happened to walk in on Ozai narrating one to Azula. They were all very similar, though, a few fairy tales that ended violently, but mostly battles, past glories of his people. And one of them stuck in his head now: it had been the most interesting one, certainly, of all of his father's tales.

The story of Fire Lord Sozin and the airbender.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Why did he want to kill them all, Dad?"

"Because they stood in the way of his power. And they would have destroyed him, if given the chance. You see, the Avatar cycle had fallen upon the Air nomads."

"Oh, of course," Azula had said, sitting on the floor at her father's feet like a pet. "Ancestor Sozin wanted to get rid of the Avatar."

Ozai's lips had twitched as he listened to his daughter's voice, clear and without remorse. Not like Zuko's, which was hushed and fearful.

"So what happened?"

"Hush and let me tell the story, and you just may find out," Ozai had responded coldly. Zuko's mouth glued shut, and his father leaned forward slightly.

"So your honorable ancestor Sozin set out eliminating the airbenders. It was his first strike in the Glorious Hundred Years War, and the spirits even sent him a comet to draw his strength from, so noble was his purpose."

Azula smirked, and then looked at her brother. Dummy was clutching his robes in his sweaty fists, eyes wide. He looked scared. _Hahaha._

Ozai continued to speak.

"So the Fire Lord first went to the Southern Air Temple, where the Avatar was said to be in training. He would have only been a little boy; Sozin thought the job would be easy. And do you know what?"

Zuko had vigorously shaken his head. This was the good part.

"It was. Almost. They ploughed through the temple like a plague, cutting down any who got in their way, but were unable to find him, the Avatar. And then Sozin came upon an old man, there at the heart of the temple, in a big open hall."

"Pfft. An old man? As if that was a problem," Azula had snorted derisively.

"So Sozin thought. A simple old man, a monk with a wooden necklace, alone now except for the firebenders." Ozai looked out into space, then down at the eyes of his children, and continued.

"But remember that you must never underestimate your enemies. The airbender fought him like a **demon**. Even Sozin, in the aftermath, was amazed at the strength this one man had. He swept through, the winds he raised tearing the temple down onto troops of invading soldiers, killing nearly all of Sozin's men and sweeping them off the mountain."

"So what happened?" Zuko asked again.

"Sozin and the airbender battled for a nearly two days, neither master willing to give a single step, both using themselves up completely until it seemed as though the battle would be a draw. Until, at sunset at the end of the second day, in the sky, the mighty comet appeared, lighting the mountain ablaze. And through the clouds, lightning struck suddenly, and Sozin called it to him."

Even Azula had gasped in wonder at that, the first time she heard it. Her ancestor had been the first to tame the cold fire.

"And he struck the airbender dead, and was victorious."

"But he never found the Avatar, did he Dad?"

"No. So our search continues as we await the comet's second coming."

"Dad?"

"What, Zuko?"

"What was the great airbender's name?"

"Gyatso."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Heyyyyy!!! Alright, next chapter I'll get them to Geming. (Which translates to "revolution," by the way.) And then they can start the action! Oh, and the next chapter will probably pick up exactly where this one leaves off, Aang and Zuko chit-chat. Coming up, looking several chapters into the future, I'll try to work something in about Sozin, and why the comet appeared in the first place. Flashbacks! But only if people review! Thanks for reading!!!!!**


	14. Chapter 14

I got nothing to say, really. So um, yeah, here we go with the story. Please review: I appreciate any kind of feedback you give me on this. I've passed 8000 hits, so I at least know that people are reading. Thanks. **Disclaimer**: Avatar is the property of Nickelodeon, not me. Got it?

Chapter 14

Aang's eyes had snapped open when he heard the sounds of footsteps in the early morning tranquility. Turning his head ever so slightly, he had caught a glimpse of Zuko's back, walking away. Where could he have been off to?

Against his better judgment, Aang had decided to follow him. He stayed behind a safe distance, taking long, floating steps to avoid tricky twigs and rocks that would give him away. Why did Zuko want to go up there? Aang kept waiting for Zuko to fall, as he climbed up out of the small ravine, but the firebender's progress was smooth and effortless.

What was he doing?

Aang weighed his options.

He could avoid Zuko, going back to camp and keeping as far away as possible from the guy who had chased him across the world. Or he could go up there and, well, say something to him. Try to smooth things over? He was supposed to be the Avatar, the peacemaker. It was his job. If he was unwilling to forgive Zuko for his past actions, then Aang was just as bad as the people he was fighting _against._ And, as much as he hated to think of it that way, Zuko was part of their little "family" now.

Taking a breath for courage, the boy continued his progress, bounding up the rock face on puffs of air, and floating down to sit beside Zuko on his right.

Zuko cracked an eye open. Aang saw a glint of gold before he shut it again.

"Good morning." _Boy, nice one Aang_. "Uh, wow, sure is a nice sunrise. We had the best sunrises back at the temple were I lived. It was up in the mountains, so you could see everything."

Still nothing from Zuko. Aang's small shoulders dropped visibly. Well, if Zuko wasn't going to converse, then Aang planned to sit here and talk until Zuko either threw him off the plateau or had his ears fall off. Whichever came first.

"What is firebending like? I've never been able to actually make fire before, so it's funny to think of myself doing it in a past life. I'm…kinda scared of it, actually. I mean, I know I need to learn it, and that's part of what being the Avatar is, but what if I mess up? I don't want to hurt anybody."

Zuko said nothing. Aang took it as a cue to keep going.

"See, I've never made fire before, but I did manipulate it. Once. We had found a firebending master, a deserter from the Army. And he offered to teach me, but I got impatient. He gave me a leaf and told me to try and keep the fire from reaching its edge. That was all I had to do."

Zuko recalled the same exercise as a young boy, sitting and complaining about how boring it was while Azula got to shoot fireballs.

"And I couldn't even do that. I just let the fire get bigger, because I wanted to. It wanted to. And I lost control of it: it spread a big ring around me, and then I heard someone crying out like they were in pain. Katara had been standing and watching me, telling me to be careful…"

"Who?"

Aang jerked slightly. Zuko had just spoken: it was a miracle! Aang was so surprised that he had gotten Zuko to say one single word that he didn't even process the question for a few moments.

"What?"

"What did you say?"

"I said that 'Katara had been…'"

"I am not deaf, airbender. I heard you. But which one is Katara?"

Aang's mouth couldn't help dropping open a slight bit. He had chased them, fought with them, and now he was traveling with them, and Zuko didn't know their names?

"Katara is the waterbender. I'm sure she'd appreciate being called that rather than 'peasant'. The guy with the boomerang and the ponytail is 'Sokka', the blind earthbender is named 'Toph', and in case you're interested, the lemur and the bison are called Momo and Appa."

Zuko nodded. "So what happened with the fire?"

"It spread," Aang continued after the strange interruption. "It fanned out and swept towards Katara, and she put her hands out to protect her face…and I burned them. She must have been hurt really badly, and it was my fault."

The airbender quieted down. Why had he told Zuko that story?

Maybe that was why the firbending was so hard. He needed, as Pahtik had said, to not be ashamed of these things: he was a firebender, somewhere in there. So he would need to handle flame again. But remembering the sobs as Katara had clutched her scorched hands, he felt like he never could.

The story hadn't had the effect Aang had been aiming for, but it gave him something to think about.

Aang's nose twitched, shooing away a little bug that had come to land there. Why not tell a lighter natured story, then?

"And there was this one time when we got stuck out in the desert. Sokka got really thirsty, so he found a cactus and drank the water trapped inside it."

Aang had been unable to laugh then, because he had been so worried about Appa. But now, sitting in the warm sunlight, he allotted himself a chuckle.

"So Sokka drinks the cactus juice, and he's totally delusional for the rest of the day. He kept rolling in the sand, saying he was making snow angels, or dancing around and yelling at Momo for owing him money. I think he even said that the meaning of life was to be able to eat an entire seal-fish in one sitting. It was really bizarre."

No laughs from Zuko, of course.

Aang stood up, the sun now fully pulled out from its hiding spot behind the horizon. He turned to go, grumbling that they would be leaving soon, so don't hold them up.

"Fire is power," he heard.

When he turned around, Zuko was standing as well, and now faced Aang with a very unreadable expression. "It's pure power at your fingertips. You are a master of all the destruction that it can cause, all the burns it can inflict. You need to be strong and resistant to control it: you don't work with it like a partner and you **don't** make friends with it."

Aang frowned. "Doesn't sound very pleasant."

"It's not supposed to be," he stated simply.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Aw, come on there, Atka. You can keep going…"

"Do you want me to find him some water?"

"No, no, no. He's always stubborn like this. I must have the dumbest ostrich horse in the entire kingdom." Daiyu patted the beast's head affectionately.

Suki looked up at the sky. Morning again, still a day's trip or so from Geming. She sighed, and Daiyu turned to her.

"You keep doing that. I hope I don't bore you…."

Suki shook her head. "No, I was just thinking."

"Can I ask what about?" Daiyu was very inquisitive that way, amazingly chipper and childlike, considering that she was somewhere in her twenties.

_Her fallen friends. Their families. The Fire Nation women. Appa and the Avatar. Sokka._ She had a lot on her mind, so she decided to share a little bit of it.

"A boy I know."

Daiyu smiled slyly. "Ah, I see. Is he handsome?"

Suki also smiled. "Yes. But that's not why I like him."

Daiyu hopped back up into the wagon and snapped the reins. The ostrich horse finally started moving, thoughtfully chewing on some grain Daiyu had given him.

"Well, does he feel the same way about you?"

Suki frowned slightly. He had kissed her, after all, but something about the way he looked off into the night, the way he looked up at the moon….

"I'm not entirely sure."

"Yes, that's the thing about love. It's unpredictable."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Oh! Hey Aang, do you see it?"

Aang squinted against the haze. For mid-spring, it was very hot out, and the distance was blurred like a watercolor. But he could make out the edges of the city towers, rising up from out of the surrounding fields and forests.

"Yeah. I can't believe we found it using Sokka's map."

"Nothing wrong with this map!" Sokka remarked defensively, trying to hold the parchment taught in the wind.

"Well, it is kinda old."

"Pfff. It got us where we needed to be, right?"

Katara leaned forward to get a better look at Geming. It was carved in a white rock that looked like bleached bone in the sun, not as large as Ba Sing Se, certainly, but still very vast. She wondered how they had managed to build it up, on such flat terrain.

"Great, another city," Toph muttered. She hated cities. She hated walls, she hated the feeling like she was being crushed and confined. She would take freedom any day. Katara patted her on the back as though to tell her to quit complaining.

"Don't worry, we'll try and be fast."

"Yeah, but how are we going to find the guy Hakoda told us about?" Aang asked, looking in Sokka's direction for help.

"Dad said that the guy was a part of some kind of "secret" society. It was….."

His face blanked, paled, and flushed all at once. What had the name been??

"Society of…of the…of the Blue Tiger. No, no, wait: the Red Sword!"

"Sokka, the Society of the Red Sword was the club you made up when you were eight. Remember, you wouldn't let me join?" Katara elbowed him.

"Okay okay, I think it was something to do with a white flower…"

"The white lotus, by any chance?" Iroh asked.

"Yes! That's it! Society of the White Lotus, that was it. How did you know?"

"I happen to be a member," Iroh smiled, pulling a carved tile from his sleeve and making it dance through his fingers.

Katara had to be shocked at that. So he would know about them, then, and maybe this Aiguo guy would be willing to help. How convenient could things get, honestly? And for a split second, she had a sense that someone was pulling the strings. Something higher than herself had stepped in for them, and was deliberately moving pieces across some sort of great chessboard. It was strange to think about….

"I think we should split up when we go into the city," Toph proposed out of the blue.

"Huh? Remember what happened last time we split up?" Aang replied quickly.

"Yeah, how could I forget? But still, we're all fugitives, right?"

Aang nodded. This was Fire Nation territory, so of course their wanted posters would be plastered all over the place. Maybe they should…

"And, if one of us gets arrested, at least it will be one of us and not all of us."

Well, that sounded a little harsh. But Aang couldn't argue with it.

"So how should we split up, then?"

Toph blew a strand of jet black hair out of her face, where it had been tickling her small nose. She thought.

"We should divide up into the groups that will attract the least suspicion or something, I dunno."

"Sokka," Katara offered, "you ought to go with Iroh. You're the only two who know anything about the person we're looking for, after all."

Sokka figured his partner was a much better choice than others that it could have been, so he didn't argue. He had let the firebending guy grow on him, anyway.

Aang looked over at Katara: he still felt too strange, and was afraid that being alone with her would make him blurt out something and mess everything up, so…

"Toph and I can shadow you guys, you know, as backup or something. Just in case."

"But who's gonna stay with Appa, then? We can't just leave him alone. And besides, Aang, you're the most noticeable one of the bunch." Katara dreaded what was coming, but it made a lot more sense. She could have stuck with Toph, but she didn't want Scarface within twenty feet of Aang right now.

"Wait," Sokka voiced her thoughts, "so if Aang and Toph are going to hang back and watch Appa, and Iroh and I are looking for Aiguo, then that leaves…."

Toph could hear the agitation and fear in his voice. But at least she wouldn't have to hang out in that stupid city.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Peasant, if you say anything, you'll regret it."

"I wasn't **going** to say anything, you stupid, arrogant…"

Zuko pulled the hood farther over his head, trying to shade it from the lamp lights along the streets and quiet his footsteps over the cobbles. He and the waterbender were keeping about a block or so behind his uncle and the Buffoon, ducking and weaving to avoid the night traffic of Geming. Beside him, the waterbender bristled.

_I'd rather have him where I can keep an eye on him, though,_ Katara thought grudgingly. She poked her head around the corner, and saw her brother's boot vanish around another one. _Well, I hope Iroh knows where he's going. He said he'd been to Geming before, but I'm still unsure…_

Zuko trod on the heel of her foot, and it was all she could do not to give him a water whip in the face. And of course, he didn't apologize. He just tucked his face farther in to the cloak he was wearing, trying to hide that tell-tale scar. At least it was dark out.

"I'm still mad at you, I hope you know," Katara hissed as they walked quickly down a side street and past a vendor selling jewelry.

"Are you." was his reply.

"Yes."

"That's fine with me."

Katara had been so furious with him, and his placid response only fueled her irritation. How could she have been so stupid? It was the hundredth time she had asked herself that. How could she have actually felt a **scrap** of compassion for that creep who had tried to kill them constantly? But forgiveness had always been so important to her, so valued by her mother.

_Katara, that is why we have such things as mercy and forgiveness: for those who don't deserve it. No one is ever too far gone, remember that, and always be willing to forgive someone their trespasses…_

And of all things, she had cried! Cried, in front of him!

"Girl, get that vacant expression off of your face and keep walking!"

And Zuko wasn't doing much to help his standing in her view… although he had saved her from that fire solider: she was still analyzing that one.

"Did they just go into that building right there?"

"Which one, peasant?"

"The one right there, the one with the sign out front for specialty pottery."

"I thought so. So what do we do now?"

Katara turned to look at him, getting smacked about as a man walked past her carrying a crate of something. As she stumbled a few steps, she happened to get a look up the street….and spot blood red armor progressing through the pools of lamplight.

Fire Nation soldiers.

"Come on, in here," she whispered urgently, snatching his sleeve and ducking into the shop they had stopped outside of. It was warm and well light, and Katara peered out of the window as the night patrol walked right past, the clatter of their boots and swords dying away gradually.

"Gods, can I ever get away from…." She heard Zuko curse behind her.

What was wrong?

Katara looked over her shoulder to see that they had walked into a little tea shop, empty of customers except for themselves. What, did Zuko have a thing against tea or something? He had certainly seemed happy (almost disturbingly so) when Katara had encountered him in the shop in Ba Sing Se. So what was the problem?

"Ah, hello there!"

Drat, they'd been noticed.

A robust woman on the far end of middle age stepped out from behind the counter, ruddy faced and durable, taking in the sight of the two hooded teens with sharp, dark eyes. She smiled broadly, a slightly crooked grin.

"Come on, have a seat. It's always a pleasure to have customers at this time of night."

_Well, it's not as though rushing out now will allay suspicion_…Katara looked across the street again at the door her brother and uncle had entered through. At least they would be able to watch out for them. She sighed and sat down.

"What can I get 'cha?"

Katara pursed her lips. She had never been much of a tea drinker, to be honest. Gran- Gran had made this one tea, though, from snow root, that was exquisite, but she figured you wouldn't find snow tea in this part of the world.

"I'll have jasmine, please," she asked quietly, avoiding the woman's eyes.

"I suppose I will too." Oh, so now Zuko wanted tea?

"Ah, fabulous! Jasmine is my personal favorite," the woman laughed. Well, she certainly didn't lack in enthusiasm. The woman turned and took a kettle off the fire, pulling up three wooden cups in her sturdy hands and setting them down.

"So," she interrogated, "who are you? I've never seen you in this neighborhood before."

"Ah," Zuko answered before Katara had the opportunity, "my name is Lee." (It was becoming his favored alias). "And this is…." Zuko thought. Two young adults, traveling alone together. What was Katara supposed to be? A smirk was born and died within a second on Zuko's face.

"….this is my sister, Zula."

Katara glared at him, in what could have been interpreted as typical sibling rivalry.

"Really? My word, you don't look a thing alike."

"Tragic tale," Katara quipped. She looked at Zuko before beginning. "Loads of passion, backstabbing, betrayal and broken hearts, I'm afraid."

Zuko was staring at her, and Katara could practically feel the flames burning her hair off already. But it was like some kind of morbid addiction: she simply couldn't stop.

So Katara sat there, sipping her tea and weaving a bizarre love triangle ( with Zuko breaking in occasionally) that ended with them, Zula and Lee, hunting for their long-lost younger sister ( who was an expert with a boomerang and an earthbender to boot), and sitting in this shop. The woman nodded her head.

"My, that's quite a tale."

"It certainly is," Zuko snapped, swilling his tea resentfully.

"So how did he get that scar, then?"

Curses, would this woman's questions ever end? Zuko trained his entire focus down into the cup of half-gone tea, wishing the shameful mark would disappear, trying to keep his face unreadable so he could finally be left alone.

Katara had had a smart remark on the tip of her tongue, something embarrassing about "Lee's" poor cooking skills, when she saw Zuko flinch at the question. Hardly noticeable, like he had been pricked with the very tip of a needle. But she still saw it.

_Alright, then, Mom. I'm listening to you. I'll give it a try._..

Katara patted Zuko's clenched fist with her cool hand in mock comfort, almost flinching herself at how hot it was. She looked at the shopkeeper.

"Ah, he got that a few years ago. We were traveling in another city, and there was a huge fire in one of the apartments. It was even spreading to the surrounding area. Lee ran in to help the men get some of the people out, and a rafter fell down in front of him."

"Hmm. Well, that was very brave of you, young man."

"Yes," Katara said in a strained voice, "It was."

But now her own curiosity was stirred. How _had_ that burn scar come to be?

The woman sipped her tea a few seconds more, looking Zuko up and down, and then turned her attention back on Katara.

"So, when is your wedding? You seem a little young. I have a daughter, Daiyu, who's a bit older than you, and I can't imagine her taking a husband…"

"Huh?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"You're wearing a Water Tribe betrothal necklace: I've seen them before."

"Oh, well, I…."

Zuko had been keeping a careful eye on the window, and saw light flood out into the street as the door to the pottery shop swung open. Uncle and the Buffoon stepped out. He shook the waterbender's shoulder forcefully.

"Time to go, Zula."

Katara got his hint and leapt to her feet, making her way to the door…

"Hold it!" the woman barked from behind them.

Katara's heart leapt in her mouth, but then she remembered the bill. Of course. She turned, pulling the coins from her pockets, but the woman motioned for her to stop what she was doing. Her dark gaze sharpened.

"Do you know what I saw yesterday?" the woman asked, stepping out from behind the counter again. She leaned on it, and did not wait for them to answer.

"I saw a wanted poster. For the **Avatar**, of all people! I thought he had vanished one hundred years ago. And there were others, for his rebel accomplices."

Katara's hand was creeping to her pouch ever so slightly.

"One for a young woman, a blue-eyed Water Tribe girl. The poster warned that she was a terribly powerful waterbender," the woman's eyes darted to Katara's hand, now on the stopper of her water sack, "and to exercise extreme caution around her."

Zuko made a step towards the door when the woman turned to him.

"Oh, and there was another one for a Fire Prince. Of all things, I thought to myself! A young man with a fearsome-looking scar on his face."

There was a ringing of steel as Zuko's swords inched their way out of their sheaths. What was the woman going to do, call the patrol?

The woman stepped forward, and opened the door. She cast a look over at the two benders.

"I had long given up hope of this war ending. It has taken my husband and son away from me, and I thought that the Avatar was merely a myth: a false hope that my own mother always told me of. I remember saying to her that I'll believe we have not been abandoned by the Higher Power when I see the Avatar with my own two eyes."

She handed them a small package of food, some bread.

"But I think you two are proof enough. Tell him I said hello."

And she let them sprint off into the night.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

**A/N; Okay, next chap will be meeting with the rebels in the society. I had fun writing this one, the whole thing with Katara making up the story. Making friends, in her own bizarre way. Well, review if you want to. This story does not go forward without them!!!! Oh, and there will be more action in the upcoming chapters, I promise.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Well, another Christmas come and gone. What can you do? Here's the next chapter. There will be fighting and more action in the next one; this is a plot advancement chapter. But I hope you like it anyway. Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, no funny comments to put here.**

Chapter 15

Sokka was almost mesmerized at the movements across the board.

He had never had a penchant for games like this: it wasn't that he didn't have the head for it, exactly, but he always got impatient. Pai-sho was just so anti-climatic.

But when Iroh had smiled at the man in the shop, conversing like an old friend and asking him to play a round, Sokka couldn't help but be interested. Their strategies across the board were rhythmic, almost in sync as they arranged themselves. Bits and pieces here and there, all non-sequential little designs at first. It wasn't until Iroh slid the last tile, the lotus one, in place, that Sokka saw the unity of the moves, a large and intricate blossom formed on the playing board. It was an "ah-hah!" moment for him: he loved those.

"Good to see that there is someone still loyal in this city," Iroh commented, folding his hands together.

"The members of the White Lotus can always find an ally or two if they look hard enough," the potter grinned back. He was perhaps several years younger than Zuko's uncle, a very tall and lanky man whose fluid movements did not convey the awkwardness of his youth. Pocketing the tiles, the man's eyes glinted.

"What may I do for you, ally?" Obviously there would be no formal exchange of names here.

"I'm looking for someone whose aid I am in dire need of. It is a very high order to ask of a man, and would be putting him in great danger. Might he be the sort of fellow willing to accept the task?"

The tall, gray bearded man considered it.

"If we chance to be thinking of the same man, I can tell you with fair certainty that he'd take great pleasure in aiding your cause." His strong jaw twitched, and he let a smile spread across his features.

"Excellent. And where might I find this revolutionary?"

"He sits before you, Dragon of the West. And he is eager to hear what is in his future."

"Then allow me to convey it. But perhaps at another time, in another place? Walls have rats and rats have ears, after all."

"Of course. At the statue in the square, noon tomorrow. Bring a small lantern with you, and no more than two at once as your company."

Iroh nodded, and rose to go. Sokka figured it was his turn now, and the man faced him.

"Ah, you must be of some relation to Hakoda, yes?"

Sokka was obviously surprised, and the man chuckled.

"I never forget a face, especially with a personality like his behind it. When you see him again, tell him that they managed to pull the horse out."

"What??"

"Oh, we met outside the gates before he left: I was to give him a few maps that would help him. And there was a horse and carriage that had fallen into a ditch beside the road which were hopelessly stuck in the mud. People had been trying for a day to get it out, but the horse's legs were badly injured."

Sokka was wondering if this story had a point, but he only nodded for Aiguo to continue.

"So Hakoda says to me, that 'it would be better to accept that some things can't be done.' He had just lost a fair number of his men in a naval skirmish, you see."

"Oh," Sokka mumbled, instantly feeling for their families.

"But after he left, they managed the task. It took quite a few men, quite a lot of time, and some very clever planning, but they freed him."

Sokka had yet another "ah-hah" moment. "I'll be sure to tell him, sir."

Iroh walked over to them, carrying a small ceramic teapot and inspecting the price and digging into his pouch for any money.

"Oh, take it as a gift," the tall shop owner shrugged. "I enjoy a cup of tea myself now and then. And it will help to throw off anyone who happens to be snooping about."

Of course. Who spends so long in a shop without buying something?

Without another exchange between them, Sokka and Iroh left, stepping out into the streets an minute before the shop opposite them also opened. There was his sister and Scarface, both surprisingly intact as they hurried over to reach them.

"Did you get what we needed?"

"Ah, yes. Isn't this a lovely find? Such beautiful art: very stylish birds." Iroh held forth the teapot for inspection, glancing over his shoulder at a pedestrian watching them.

Zuko frowned, but Katara played along as they moved through the crowds and back towards the city gates.

"Ah yes. I love the blossoms. Toph tells me you're very fond of tea."

"Oh, indeed. And yourself?"

"Can't disagree that tea drinking has its good points," and she looked at Zuko for a split second, "but I never liked it _that_ much. I guess that comes as you get older, huh?"

"Undoubtedly. But that gives me something to look forward to."

Katara smiled, casting a look at Sokka. He nodded, answering a question she had not asked. Katara could only hope and pray that their deal with the rebels would go over well: there just seemed so much that could go wrong.

And she made a promise to herself to make it clear to Zuko, at some later point in time, that she would never ever, in a million years, become an elephant koi trick rider. Of all the preposterous things he could have told that woman.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The noon sun was positioned, glaring and white in a cloudless sky.

It got Aang's attention for an instant, and then he pulled his hat farther down over his bald head. It certainly was a pain hiding his arrow all the time: What would happen if he let his hair grow? He was fairly certain that it was some shade of brown, but he always shaved it off without inspecting. He was sure he would look very strange, and he was also sure that this train of thought was going nowhere. He turned his attention to Iroh's back as it wove through the crowd.

It seemed like really loose instructions, the whole "meet me at the statue" deal. It reminded Aang of the very few times when his friends back at the temple got into quarrels. They would arrange duels in "secret" locations, which were inevitably found out about and stopped… but hopefully, he wasn't walking into a fight with this Aiguo guy.

Aang peeked over his shoulder.

Zuko was almost directly behind him, face shaded under the wide brim of his own hat. Over at a fruit stand stood Katara and Toph, feigning interest in some lemon-stars while waiting for the all clear to follow them.

Sokka had chosen to take the long way, back through the neighborhood he and Iroh had passed through the night before, and meet Katara and Toph back at the square while they waited there. Aang figured that it made sense: trying not to draw attention with a large group. But it was also very hard to coordinate, and he couldn't help but be jittery. Just a little bit, maybe.

He turned to look up ahead again, and saw what their destination.

So there was the statue, towering and omnipresent, carved from the same white rock as the rest of the city was. It was the likeness of a Fire Nation noble, with a stern face, broad shoulders, and a dragon coiled at his feet. Aang's brow wrinkled as he looked closer. Something about the nose, the cut of the chin, the high cheekbones….Aang glanced back again at Zuko in question. The spectrum of emotions that traveled across the exiled prince's face confirmed Aang's suspicions.

And thus he was able to look upon his opponent for the first time.

Aang wondered, strangely, how tall the Fire Lord was in real life. If his expression always looked so dark, far colder than any mask Zuko had ever worn. He certainly didn't look like a father of any sort.

Iroh seemed not to notice the meeting that was occurring behind him. His path through the crowd continued in a straight line, and he waved in greeting to a tall, bearded man dressed like everyone else in the square. The man stood up and seized Aang's hand, eyes bright.

"Oh, good to see you," the man grinned, "I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"Uh…same here?" Aang was unsure of how to respond. Was this some act, or did the guy really know who he was? A small caution flag went up.

Iroh turned to Katara and Toph, still a ways back in the crowd. Katara waved to let him know she saw them, as she perused through a vendor's collection of clothing and motioned for them to go on ahead.

"Now," Aiguo huffed, releasing Aang's stiff hand, "let's go. I know an excellent place we can discuss our business at."

Oh, so they were going somewhere else? Why couldn't they have met there instead? Aang wondered if all the secrecy was necessary as they trudged several streets and came to a…flower shop? They were assaulted with a plethora of scents as they walked in, and Aiguo waved to the woman who as arranging them. She was hard to spot on the riot of color that also filled the tiny shop, flora from all over the Earth Kingdom.

Aiguo reached under his cloak and pulled out a white flower, presumably a lotus.

"Tori, good to see you," he greeted, as she plucked the flower from his hands.

"It's been to long, Aiguo. Are we expecting any more customers?"

"Three. A young man and two girls. They should be arriving soon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must show these gentlemen your rare collection in back."

"Ah, I'm too boring to stay and chat with? Fine, I'll watch for your company." She waved him off with a disturbingly flirtatious giggle, and they walked past her, into a room filled with…flowers, of course.

Aiguo strode over and pushed aside a large pot that held some huge lapis blossom, sliding it and clearing a space in the floor. He turned to Aang.

"Avatar," he asked, "can I expect you to have mastered earth by now?"

Aang's grip on his staff tightened. "I wouldn't say 'mastered.'"

"Oh, don't worry. It's fairly simple."

Aang looked over at Iroh, who nodded reassuringly. Aang nodded back: if they were going to work together, he would have to trust him. Aiguo continued to speak.

"I need you to send a slight pulse through the floor. Would you?"

Aang shook out the knot of tension welled between his narrow shoulders, and blew the rest of it out with a sigh. He knelt down. Placing a hand on the stone tile, the airbender concentrated, and gave it the gentlest nudge.

_Move._

The vibration fanned out, and one of the large stones jumped neatly out of place, flipped up, landing with a clatter, and revealed some sort of ladder descending into the dark.

"Good, thank you," Aiguo smiled. "I designed this to be only accessible to earthbenders: keeps the Fire Nation from snooping around too much…no offense."

Iroh shrugged, Zuko glared.

And they entered into the tunnel, which smelled like every other dank, gloomy, mysterious tunnel that Aang had ever had to crawl through, using the lantern Aiguo had requested they bring. A rich voice called out to him

"So, Avatar, tell me what your business is here in our humble little city."

With aid and prompting from Iroh, Aang laid down Sokka's somewhat drastic, dangerous strategy to leave the Fire Nation powerless, including the eclipse and the approach of Sozin's comet,

Down, down, watching the circle of light shrink overhead as they talked, and Aang had to wonder how they could have possibly carved all this secretly. Reaching the bottom, they kept walking, discussing, weaving through a tunnel for what felt like miles, until a door came into view. Aiguo gave it three short raps.

The rebel called a greeting into the dark, and another voice cried back.

"Who knocks at the garden gate?"

Aang heard a very irritated sigh come from Zuko, somewhere behind him.

"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries," Iroh answered back before Aiguo was given the chance. He only nodded in approval, and brought the three into a surprisingly large room, filled with men, all younger than Aiguo by some degree. And yet they all bowed their heads in respect to him as the strongest among them.

"Why is it you have assembled us here, Master Aiguo?"

Aiguo was idly flicking his own lotus tile between his fingers, and he turned to the scruffy young man who had spoken. The scant light gave their faces a dark and pensive appearance, and through the semi-dark a crescent of white teeth appeared.

"Do you remember the dream I told you about, where the man in the red robes with the dragon promised me that deliverance was coming?"

"Yeah," another laughed, carving something into the table with his knife. "We all agreed that you had overdone it on my daughter-in-law's fire cakes."

A pattering of chuckles arose, but they quieted down as Aang removed his hat and swallowed, still a bit nervous.

Everything was very quiet, until the man with the knife spoke up.

"Surely you can't expect us to believe this. Aiguo, this goes beyond tasteful humor: you're just being cruel…."

Iroh tapped Aang on the shoulder, and he rode a breath of air to touch down onto the tabletop, light as a snowflake. "Nope, he's being serious," he shrugged, as casually as possible.

If it had been quiet before, it was nothing compared to the silence that followed. A boy, missing for a hundred years, the legendary Avatar, the only airbender any of them had ever seen, a living legend and relic. Aang had often tried to imagine the shock it caused some people when they laid eyes on him, but he could never fully grasp it. He gave them a few minutes grace to allow that to sink in before he continued to speak.

"Please, sirs, my name is Aang. I've come here to ask for your help, but I won't hold anything against you if you don't want to partake in the plan I'm gonna propose…"

Aiguo broke in.

"I have waited for ten years for this time to come. The rebellious spirit is ripe for the taking among the people…"

"What with the recent executions and draft, you mean," said Knife-Man.

"Not to mention the taxes," grumbled a new one with a long scar on his arm.

"Exactly. And now, of all times, the spirits have guided the Avatar and his companions," he motioned to Iroh and a briefly forgotten Zuko, "to aid us. I believe you will find interest in the idea the Avatar's comrade came up with."

So, in far more eloquent words than Aang thought he'd related it, Aiguo laid Sokka's bug-inspired divide and conquer idea before the company. All of them looked to be thinking it over, to the tune of twirling daggers or strumming fingers. Do risk death or go on living?

"So, he wants us to light a few fires in this city."

"I was thinking of a sort of barricade of the West End, were all the soldiers are quartered," Aiguo threw down a suggestion.

"Oh, invade the palace," Scruffy-Boy said.

"Why not just drive them all out? Have them have to lay siege to this city all over again?"

"We don't have the power to do that, Tal."

"I'd go for an invasion of the palace…"

"So I guess that's a yes from all of you? You'll do something, then?" Aang questioned hopefully.

Scar-Arm, now identified as Tal, cracked his knuckles out of habit.

"Avatar, we would be ashamed to call ourselves rebels not to."

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Suki was, indeed, impressed with Geming, even if it was crawling with Fire Nation soldiers that she kept a careful eye on. So meticulously designed and organized, but also so confusing! She had never become accustomed to cities, but fortunately Daiyu knew it like the back of her hand.

After the herbs were delivered to their locations all over the huge metropolis, they had come to a small shop of some sort, into which Daiyu had rushed and screeched, loud enough for half the street to hear,

"Momma!!!! Oh, it's been too long!"

The stocky woman in the shop spilled the tea she had been pouring. "Do my eyes _deceive_ me? No, that bony thing can't possibly be my little black jade…"

"Momma, I…._bony_?"

And so mother and daughter, who amazed Suki at their lack of resemblance, had chattered away, the rest of the world forgotten until Suki caught Daiyu's eye and she drew her in.

"This is Suki of Kyoshi Island, Momma: she got me out of a spot of trouble coming here."

"No more trouble than your daughter saved me from," Suki responded politely. She was in the midst of bowing when the older woman righted her and patted her heartily on the back. Ouch, she was strong.

"Aw, none of that. You don't need to bother. Now, what can I serve you two?"

Suki was going to sit down, rather gently due to how sore she still was, when the strangest thing happened to her. It was like a tug on the back of her shirt, a slight hiss in her ear.

_Go outside._

Suki made a slight face that went unnoticed. Why? How strange, indeed. She settled in, catching the beginnings of a conversation from Daiyu's mother. "You know, the strangest pair you'll ever hope to met came in here just last night…" But there it was again.

_Go outside, now._

Out of pure stubbornness and attempt to be reasonable, Suki remained where she was, wanted to hear what the woman had to say. It was more interesting than whatever could possibly be out in the streets, surely. The next summoning almost deafened her, at least within her own mind.

_**GO! **_

Unable to ignore it any more, Suki finally pushed away the cup she had been served and hastily excused herself for a moment or two. She rushed out the door, not surprised to see that everything was the same and she had come out here for nothing. How rude Daiyu must think her, and after all the help she had given her, too.

_Oh, I wouldn't speak too soon_.

Suki's head was jerked almost forcefully to the left, to look down the street at the vendors and customers milling about. Nothing to see here.

Until her eyes picked out a spot of blue. _That _caught her interest, sure enough.

_I'm seeing things_, she convinced herself. _The chances are infinity to one. It's probably some after effect of the wood leaf Daiyu gave me…._

But as she distinguished the sauntering walk, the tan skin, the wiry frame, the tuft of hair, and ever other detail about the figure that she had memorized, she was certain.

And as she leapt from the stone step, she did not care how mad she may have looked, if this were indeed an illusion.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Sokka could have sworn he was hearing things.

He must have been, because that voice was coming from nowhere, **"Sokka! Sokka!"**

That is, until the person he expected least in the entire world shoved the masses aside and sprung on him, wrapping him into a death-grip embrace that he had to stumble to absorb the impact of. If he had gone crazy, then insanity was enlightenment.

"**_SUKI!!!"_** he burst out, trying to confirm that she was truly there, in the street, looking a little worse for wear but alive and in his arms. How was this possible? What was going on here? Did it really matter? Not right now! He looked at her and drew in every single detail about her, the face he was worried he'd never see again. If Sokka had ever expierienced any doubts about some sort of higher power, they were swept away then.

"FINALLY! Sokka, you have no idea how worried I've been…" she fought back a few tears, and broke into a smile instead. Laughing hurt her side, but she did it anyway,

"Boy, the things I could tell you…." Sokka replied.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N; Ahh, finally, I got these two back together. Now we can watch Sokka and Suki do some fighting, I promise. I'll work on it. Oh, and reviews are alllllwaaaayyyyss welcome. I may go back to Ba Sing Se in a few chapters, see what the heck is going on there. And a chapter coming up about Sozin and Ozai, when I can. Must work faster…hope you liked this one.**


	16. Chapter 16

Hmm, I'm on an update buzz today. I do not own Avatar: it is the property of Nickelodeon, the brainchild of Michael Dante Dimartino and Bryan Konietzko (cool names, too.) So read away, and review. I love feedback, no matter what you think of the story. Have fun..

Chapter 16

The people in the streets generally stepped out of the way, giving the reunited pair wide enough berth as they both talked over on another: saying what had happened, asking questions, searching each other up and down for injuries. Suki discovered a gash from the naval battle on Sokka's shoulder, he found the bandages wrapped around a good part of her torso, and both launched into further explanations.

Could anyone in the crowd have had the spirit sight, they would have also noticed a giant of a woman standing next to them, a woman of towering stature with serious features, bathed in a cool, ghostly light, with a fan in her hand.

Kyoshi observed the reunion between the Water Tribe boy and the warrior girl who hailed from the land of Kyoshi's own birth, wondering how many Spirit World Codes she had violated with her prodding. But regardless, everything seemed to be falling into place as Roku had needed it to, even if by astronomical chances in the eyes of the mortals. Both had fought so hard, tried so long, and lost quite enough already: leniency seemed only fair, that they should find each other.

She sighed heavily.

Too much bloodshed not to step in now, in the final rounds of this hundred year game. And it frustrated the past Avatar that even powerful spirits such as her weren't blessed with the gift of clear foresight, to assure her of the boy's victory. That was for _Him_ to determine, she supposed.

But the least she could do was gather about Aang the best she could find, his own "guardians", so to speak.

Kyoshi vanished yet again.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"This man is either a tactical genius or a nutcase," a girl's voice hissed in the corners of the shadowed alleys.

Katara ducked out of the lamplight, prowling the streets yet again like a thief and clutching a small satchel under one arm. Iroh walked behind her, carrying a similar one, while Zuko followed the procession with a third container and a distasteful expression on his countenance_. If you keep your face that way, it'll stick, _Katara felt like telling him.

"I believe Aiguo is a compromise of both," the older man said casually.

Katara was not terribly comforted by that: after all, he was going into a dangerous situation with Aang. Not to mention Toph, Sokka and that guy… had he called himself Tal, or something? Even Suki (Suki! Katara had neared died of shock at the odds of meeting her here, but was overwhelmingly glad all the same) was with some rebel woman, Tori, as Katara recalled.

They came out from the shadows of the building, and were looking out at the expanse of river that suddenly yawned wide before them.

The city of Geming was cut clean in two by a large river, (the Hotaru, as the rebels referred to it) a mighty lifeline through the city that split it into the East and West ends. Ten years ago, the Fire Nation had taken the entire West end to themselves, changing homes into barracks, uprooting and relocating until the central control, around what had been the palace, was established. The West End, really, was more of a massive island in the river, as it ran around it and continued on its way.

One huge bridge was all that connected them, East and West.

Katara was going to turn to Iroh and get her next orders when a solider appeared in front of her, patrolling the docks as he did every night. He tapped the ground with the butt of his spear to draw her attention, which he received with a stare from her blue eyes. Faceless in his helmet, monstrous and cold in his armor, Katara could only try to see through the slits in the visor and hope to stare him down.

"Passports?" he asked gruffly, prodding the satchel Katara was carrying. She winced ever so slightly.

"What?"

"Passports. You need a passport or identification to be around this area of the East end after sundown, peasant."

**Again** with the peasant insult? All Fire Nation soldiers seemed to have one-track minds, that was for sure. Katara tried to consider what she would do next.

"Ah, we're here visiting a friend in the city," Iroh intervened lightly. "He works in the neighborhood."

"'We're', huh? So who are you? And I need to ask you what your business is here, or I'll have to have you arrested…"

Before Iroh could answer any further questions, the man moved to jab at the delicate satchel that Katara was holding in her arms again, and her eyes widened as she watched the spear's progress.

A moment later, a jet of water planted a haymaker across the man's helmeted face, deterring him from the action, followed immediately by a chunk of ice that knocked him out at Katara's feet.

"Why are people always so nosy?" she asked, pulling the water back into her pouch and hurrying forward across the docks.

She just hoped Aiguo had given them enough blasting jelly to take care of what he needed done.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"This is nuts," Aang whispered to Aiguo, who only shushed him as they walked the towering ridge of the palace roof where Appa had dropped them off. The sliver of moon was clouded over, hopefully guarding them from anyone who might happen to spot the giant bison, the boy and the old man.

An old man who was, however, extraordinarily nimble for his apparent age, as they glided down the slanted tile to rest on the roof's edge. Good thing both of them were impervious to heights. With a second's calculation, the rebel flipped himself neatly onto the balcony directly below, motioning for Aang to follow suit shortly afterwards.

Aang hung back for just a second, eyes squinting out to try and see across the enormous river, which must have been about a mile wide at least. The two bridges, the dimly lit city on the other side….there it was.

Two short bursts of flame from the East bank winked in and out of existence, his signal that Katara and the two firebenders were moved into position. Aang too flipped lightly down onto the balcony and ran after Aiguo, thorough the palace that Aiguo had studied the designs for quite a bit. Tapestries rustled with their progress down through the large Earth Kingdom structure, now full of Fire Nation décor, red to mask the browns and greens.

So they were going to the dungeons, then fighting their way back out to the roof, huh? When Aang had first heard the idea, it seemed slightly half-baked. Even in unison with the other things his friends and the rebels were doing now, it was risky.

But Aang did agree with Aiguo, at least, in his philosophy that no life was insignificant or expendable. A comforting philosophy for your battle partner to have.

They rounded another corner, only to run into a Fire Nation company who were waiting for them in the halls.

Waiting for them? _Oh no…._

Aiguo drew a sword from his side, Aang readied himself.

Nothing was ever easy.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Now, _this_ is a good vacation, if you ask me, Meathead."

"Yeah, if you're into the life-or-death situation, Toph," Sokka hissed back as they followed behind Tal. The top of his dark hair and the very edge of his shoulders were all that Sokka could make out in the darkness as they closed in on the building, the armory and quarters where a good number of troops were stationed in the East end.

Sokka was itching for something to happen, but nearly jumped as Tal let out a long, warbling and nearly inaudible whistle into the street, directed somewhere on the rooftops. Two short whistles followed after a moment, and Tal's footsteps continued to move forward.

"Now," he whispered in a hushed voice, "I need you two to cover the back entrance, try to raid the weaponry and bring out their heavy stuff. You know, blasting, things like that.

Aki and I will take the front with some of our companions. Go on, get into position…."

Suddenly the door to the armory flew open, a sound of steel crashing into steel and huge flame burst illuminated the entire street.

_So much for stealth_, Sokka thought as he charged recklessly forward.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

She had slipped into the water, riding on an ice disk and precariously holding the fuse, trying to keep it dry as she strung it along the underside of the bridge. Katara drew another small, tightly wrapped ball from the satchel on her shoulder and fixed it under the pillars of the arches, praying that she would have a sufficient amount. At least enough to get her under the guard towers in the middle of the bridge.

She tried to see Iroh and Zuko, two wraiths silently boarding the ships that were docked on the East end. Nope, she couldn't spot a single thing. That was reassuring: if she couldn't see them, maybe no one else could, either.

Katara stuck the compacted blasting jelly onto the expansive stone support,

smearing it with the sticky substance she had been given and cautiously arranging the fuse line. Now if they chanced to not get spotted, everything in this haphazard plan may just work out….

She spoke too soon, she realized, and a chorus of shouts came from the second warship as she saw bursts of flame begin to go off. Cursing, Katara slid through the water, trying to finish her job as fast as she possibly could, fixing the last two packages to the sides of the bridge. Now she needed something to light it with….

_Boy, you bring firebenders along and they aren't even useful…_

As if to encourage her to move along quickly, arrows shot out from overhead as the guards on her bridge took action. Well, here goes nothing.

With a precision she had labored countless hours on, Katara sent a whip of water upwards that roped the archers and pulled them down into the freezing river with her, and leapt upwards on the crest of a wave. She knew she was well outnumbered, but really, all she wanted was a torch.

Not like they were just going to give it to her, of course. About a dozen men were waiting there for her at the guard tower, there at the bridge's halfway point, as she landed among them and crashed a few backwards. One of them, she distinctly remembered, grinned at her.

That was a second before he shot her in the leg with an arrow.

"Got her, sir," the man's voice managed to reach her as she fell, "Right were they said she would be."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Once again, Suki felt incredibly useless, just sitting in a flower shop with some woman. Admittedly, Tori was good company, but Sokka could have sorely used the backup. But no, not until her wounds could fully heal! Actually, Katara had taken care of much of the serious damage, only a few cracks left here and there, but that Aiguo character had insisted that someone stay and guard the base.

She rapped her hand on the small table, idlly sniffing one of the exotic flowers that bristled with angry thorns.

Tori looked over at her, about to say something, when there was a sharp rap on the door. The tall, fine featured woman stiffened, taking a few cautious steps towards the door before calling out.

"I'm afraid we're closed, sir," she called back in a level tone.

"Not here to shop, woman. Now open the door." An armored fist pounded on it harder.

Tori had stridden over and bolted the entrance, about to motion Suki to move into the back room, when a second voice, this one pleading and desperate, also called to her.

"Tori, please, do as he says!"

"Quiet!" came a harsh order, and a grunt of pain.

The florist's brown eyes had gone wide with recognition, and she swung the door open to reveal about ten Fire Nation soldiers there, thrust in front of them a man in handcuffs, with quite a few bruises on his face and a knife at his throat. Tori gasped.

"I'm sorry, Tori!" the man immediately shouted, despite the steel blade tickling his skin. "They had Yun and Hai! I swear, I didn't have a…" he coughed as the butt of a spear rammed him in the stomach, and he doubled over.

"I said **shut up**, fool. Now, woman, I suggest you point us to where this absurd 'secret quarters' is. Don't worry, your little rebel friends are being taken care of as we speak."

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

**A/N; Short chapter. Just leaves room for the action that will take place in the next one. Review much? See you all later. I'm going to start work on the 17th right now. **


	17. Chapter 17

Okay, here we go with the next chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: it is the property of Nickelodeon. If it was mine (speaking hypothetically, of course) I think a few things would have been different during the Season 2 finale….as awesome as it was.

Chapter 17

_It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts…._

It was all Katara could think as she clutched at her leg, eyes blurring as they tried to focus on the arrow wound in her calf, but there was too much blood to see anything. Blood and pain. Great spirits, the _pain_. It was like having a banshee screaming in her ear; it drowned her thoughts out so.

By this time, of course, the waterbender was sprawled out on the cold stone and taking gasps for air, but what she heard next cleared quite a bit of the red haze. A Fire Nation solider laughed.

"Well, hopefully the others will be taken care of just as easily…"

It was interesting, but the one she thought of first was Sokka. Her big brother, her closest companion, who had always tried his best to look out for her, follow her to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. And now she was blind-sided with the possibility that they would kill him. And she couldn't do a thing to stop it.

Toph, the Blind Bandit, her little "sister" with the rock hard exterior and the considerate, if at times sarcastic, slightly naïve center. So strong, so independent, so capable, but for some reason Katara could only think of her now as a small, young, blind girl who was in terrible danger.

Aang. She prayed Aang was having better luck than they were. Aang, who she had assured was one of the family: families look out for each other! She had nearly lost him once before, lightning flashing along with the pain across her vision as she tried to move. Aang, who needed someone to teach him waterbending and help save the world and tell him everything would be alright.

So many who needed her, and she was going to bleed to death on this gods forsaken stone bridge, surrounded by laughing, jeering soldiers. She noticed the boots of one approaching her, and remarking on how amazing it was that she was still conscious.

"Tough little peasant, isn't she?"

There was the deadly sound of a sword being drawn.

Katara clenched her ocean eyes shut, gritted her teeth. _Not like this. Not like this_.

A hand roughly flipped her over from where she was lying on her stomach, to look her in the eyes before he killed her. His were cold, dark amber in color, flat and dull. One of the men she had knocked back before, water still dripping from his features.

Plop.

A drop ran its course down the man's long nose and onto Katara's face, as time froze for a split second.

A drop of water.

And when Katara needed it, the clarity came.

Drawing in a haggard breath that filled her lungs to the brim, Katara blew out a rush of air into the man's face. He dropped the sword and clutched at his eyes as all the moisture on his face froze painfully, so cold it burned, and Katara clumsily rolled out from under him, reaching for the sword and her water pouch.

_Now, remember_, Sokka's words came back to her, _grip is very important when handling_ _any kind of weapon, or else you'll just be disarmed in a second…_

And he had been right: the weapon was so awkward and heavy as she tried to block the next man who came at her, arm shaking with the effort. Kneeling on her one good leg now, she thrust a water whip forward that cut him diagonally across the chest, slicing clean through the armor.

She drew the water back in, quickly wrapping it around her hand, desperately hoping that she wasn't too weak now. Hand pressed to her wound, the warm blood mixing with the cool water and her corpse-cold hands.

_Heal heal heal heal heal…please!_

Even the soldiers had to stop and gape at that, for none had ever seen a waterbender healer before, as they watched the soft light repair the damage, the flesh taken from her leg. Rebuilding the skin, the muscle, the tendons…

But not quite enough time to totally finish the job. Katara figured it would have to do, and she uncoiled the water from around her hands, in disbelief that they soldiers had let up for even a few moments. They certainly wouldn't do so now.

She pulled to her feet again, casting aside the sword and slicing through them with the little stream of water. A firebender shot a storm of his element out on Katara's right side, an inferno rushing out to consume her.

_Use the river, fool!_

Katara obeyed her own delayed reactions, and a whirl of water rocketed up, over the bridge, turned one somersault in the air, and neutralized the flames in a quick motion of her arm. She turned the way the water wanted to go, shooting daggers of ice outward at the few men left standing around her, growling in pain as she put pressure on her still injured leg. She stumbled.

That broke her connection with the water just long enough for it to all splash and scatter, enough time for a solider to rush up behind her, seize her by the throat as they both crashed to the ground. He tried to hold down her arms, striking her hard across the face with a heavy gloved hand. Katara glared.

_**Ow.**_

_**Jerk.**_

Sufficiently angry before, the man's furious expression disappeared and was replaced by a one of horrible pain as he looked on the ice dagger that has just dug into his hand. He obliged when Katara attempted to kick him off her, and she struggled to her feet once again.

Charged forward as best she could, seizing a torch from the hands of the firebender who was holding it after whipping the water into him.

And she bounded over to the bridge's edge, threw herself into the river below only to have the ice come up to meet her, hurling her flame under the bridge.

It lit the fuse she had laid there.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The captain took another step towards Tori.

"Now, I'd like for you to cooperate, woman. You would be rather disturbed to hear what we do to those who don't cooperate." He gave a snake-like grin. Tori's face remained hard as the two faced each other, rooted in their stances.

Suki would have acted by now, but her gaze remained on the man with the knife to his throat. There were tears pooled in the traitor's eyes: obviously, he knew what happened to those who didn't cooperate.

"Captain," Tori said, voice shaking only slightly, "get out of my house."

The knife was nearly digging into the rebel's throat now: any further and he would have a new mouth. But he looked unconcerned for his own safety, and could only think of his wife and child, of his friend whose stubbornness was about to get her killed.

"Ha! Oh, you foolish woman. You have no idea what you're dealing with." The captain laughed and watched a flame begin to dance to life in his hand.

Just then, Tori happened to glance at Suki, and Suki saw something new behind the middle-aged woman's dark eyes. A smirk, almost.

The Fire Nation captain did not see it, and he took yet another few steps forward.

And then it happened, to Suki's shock.

Like a thin, long black snake, the vine on the huge plant nearest to the captain lashed out and struck him, the thorns it was bristling with digging into his unprotected face.

The vine danced upwards, a sleek, barbed whip, coiled around a second as it flashed in the firelight and struck the hand that pressed the blade to the rebel's throat. The thorns took up a good amount of blood with them, and the plant's tentacles swung widely back and forth.

And there, arms leading the motions of the thorn whips, was Tori.

Suki decided she had had enough of sitting back and watching, and she snatched the machete from the wall, the one for particularly stubborn roots and vines, knocking over potted plants as she crashed forward and struck the javelin nearest her. Ducking out of the way as a burst of flame filled the shop and set fire to half of it, Suki intercepted a blow with the fragment of a clay pot. How she wished she had her fans now…

Tori continued to manipulate the thorns, now torn free from their stalks and caught in a maddened waltz with her. The movements, Suki faintly recognized them…

She was struck hard by another solider, pinned between his twin blades, when the man suddenly jerked and toppled. The traitor stood over her now, a grim expression on his face.

_Apology accepted_, Suki thought.

By now the heat was incredible, the roof eaten away by the blaze, and Tori's thorns had caught fire, now two long streamers of flame that she lashed out with, face wild and only semi-focused. She had quite a few cuts herself, from others and her own "weapons." The soldiers, not desiring to be struck or burned to death, backed out of the doorway. The rebel headquarters would burn now, anyway. All they wanted was to kill these three nuisances.

So the fight spilled out onto the street, which was by now crowded with people who had been woken from their sleep, all eyes on the three warriors in the midst of a match with the Fire Nation soldiers. The captain, blood smeared on his face, lunged at Tori….

BOOM

A massive explosion suddenly came from the west, a mushroom cloud of fire, smoke and dust rising up over the city and illuminating the night sky. The sound of water followed it, as the people instantly began to shout.

"It came from the river!"

"What was that??"

"No! Don't go look at it!"

"It sounded like the bridge going up!"

Tori was also fascinated as the burst rose into the air, and she turned to look back at her shop, lowering her vines. Fire now roared in tall flourishes, like eyes from the windows, the entire thing gone up like dry kindling. No saving it now. The captain glared at her, looked down at the docks, made his choice, and ran in the direction of the explosion.

He had bigger things to take care of.

Suki did not even seem to acknowledge his departure, as she seized Tori by the arm.

"We need to go help my friends at the armory! Hurry up; I don't know how to get there!"

"Kei, are you coming?" Tori turned to the rebel man. He shook his head and ran off as well without an explanation, but to Suki it didn't require one. His family was in danger, after all.

Just like hers was now.

Both women forced their way through the pressing crowd and down the streets, hoping that the explosion would have drawn the most attention from the night patrols.

"How did you do that?" Suki called ahead to Tori. The woman ground to a halt, glanced left and right, and kept running. "With the vines, I mean?"

"My father was from the Great Foggy Swamp," Tori huffed back. "Waterbender."

"What?"

"Bending…water…in...the…plants…" Suki managed to hear, over the uproar in all the streets that they wove through.

She bade her feet go faster.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aang sent a gust down the hall, blasting their attackers backwards as they descended into the dungeons. Earthbenders, it seemed to be, recruits, traitors. A wave of rock rushed under his and Aiguo's feet, which Aang leaned into and forced backwards. He turned his focus downward. How to keep them from getting any closer?

A fissure split open in the stone floor as the Avatar wedged his staff down, a second sweep of air carried him and the rebel leader clean over it, and knocked their opponents into the freshly opened divide.

"Sorry!!" the boy called over his shoulder. "Nothing personal!"

Aiguo rolled his keen eyes, and he kicked open the next door they came to, leading them to the dungeons as the two soared down the steps.

_They'd been ratted out! By who?!_ Aang thought of Toph, who had been the last one to speak to him before they split up, "_Ah, come back victorious or don't come back at all, Twinkletoes!"_ And she had punched him in the arm and laughed.

What about Katara? She could already have been captured by now, and the blame would be all his for having his friends agree to this crazy plan. And what about Sokka, Iroh? Maybe, possibly, even Zuko. He had agreed to help, at least, for whatever reasons he had. Aang was already sick with worry, when he heard something, muffled by the stone over their heads, but still there.

Aiguo also turned an ear to it as they descended.

It sounded like an explosion of some kind…..

"Aiguo! Aiguo! It can't be!" a disembodied voice called out, as they reached the foot of the stairs, to face a long dungeon corridor. Numerous hands were poking out from between the bars, one hand waving frantically.

The old rebel bounded over to it, seizing the bony hand and nearly breaking it in an enthusiastic grip. He tried to laugh, but feared his voice would break. So instead, Aiguo rammed the tip of a dagger into the lock and twirled it as he spoke.

"Ah, brother, we meet again."

"About time, then. So who's that?"

Aang was weaving the water he'd found in a puddle through the locks, dragging the war prisoners out of their cells, working as fast as he could.

"The Avatar."

"You liar."

But just then, the boy kicked up a pillar of earth that smashed one of the iron doors aside, breaking open another cell full of thin, pale, and weary prisoners with bewildered or joyous expressions on their emaciated faces.

Aiguo's brother stared.

"And so comes our deliverance…."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

From his position on deck, Zuko had watched the waterbender be shot by the archer, watched her fall, heard laughter, and called his uncle's attention to it. And for the brief few minutes he thought her dead, he had the strangest sense of failure. Guilt. Responsibility.

Why should he care? Why should these things worm into his heart when he thought, now, of the airbender, the buffoon, the earthbender, and the water girl dead? It was there only for a moment before it was gone.

The vanishing act of the feeling coincided with seeing the peasant girl leap triumphantly from the bridge, a flame in her hands. He knew you couldn't kill those four off that easily.

And he watched the entire bridge explode in a series of consecutive blasts, each more magnificent than the last, apocalyptic firecrackers going off that spewed debris everywhere.

As much as Zuko would have loved to simply watch the destruction, there was firebender intent on slicing and roasting him, and Uncle Iroh was grappling with several earthbenders who appeared to have sided with the Fire Nation. Not the best circumstances for a spectator.

Zuko turned again and smashed his two blades, one crossed over the other, under the head of the massive battle axe that his opponent wielded. Both men grunted with the effort, and Zuko struck low, dodging out of the axe's path and cutting the large solider in the leg. Not enough to fell him, apparently.

The solider lunged again, this time the swing of the axe marked by a trail of fire which Zuko barely avoided, sparks flying as the two weapons made contact again. Not wanting to be pinned under again, Zuko let the dodge twist him around, bringing the swords whistling down, and he cleanly chopped the handle of the axe in two, the heavy iron head falling to the deck with a clatter.

The solider instantly dropped the remnants to hook Zuko in the jaw, a blow which was blocked by Zuko's own arm as flickers of fire swirled around it. The flickers developed into a storm, and the two were suddenly engulfed in a fury of the flames, a flare of temper on both sides.

Out of the blaze, the large solider suddenly came flying, falling backwards over the rails of the ship and into the tumultuous water that was still being rocked with explosions.

That was a moment before, like a strange fish of some kind, the waterbender soared upwards with a sash of water wrapped around her, hurtling over onto the deck and twisting her whip around at some of the soldiers.

"Zuko, tell your uncle we need to go!"

"I'm trying…" he huffed, dropping low to the ground and sweeping a leg under one man's feet, knocking him down with a satisfactory crash. Zuko sprang up, looked over at Iroh as a series of flares shot from his uncle's hands.

"Uncle, we need to get off this…."

Zuko stopped mid-sentence, pivoted, extended his arm, and sent out a neat little puff of fire like a dart. It sped across the deck, in between the soldiers like a demonic sprite of some kind, dipping as it plunged below them….and found the whole satchel of blasting jelly Zuko and Iroh had placed there.

Without waiting a second more, the waterbender pulled them both overboard, crashing into the water as the whole shipyard blew up, the explosion and flames of that one ship setting off a chain reaction that spread like a plague.

_Wow, we sure have destroyed a lot of ships recently,_ Katara thought randomly as she pushed them upwards to the surface again. They finally broke through with a burst of water, and Katara yanked all of them along, jetting over the water, moving with the waves and dodging the scraps of metal and stone that were raining down on them.

That was when the ship's core was hit, and it all went up with a deafening crash, a firestorm that expanded out over the surface of the river as Katara looked back. She wasn't sure she would be able to outrun it, but…..

And then the fire curled upwards, as thought hitting some kind of shield, fanning out around them in a dome. Solidly in place stood Zuko, hands pushing the flames upwards and outwards, not making eye contact with Katara as he shouted,

"Hurry up, waterbender! I can only do this so long!"

The calm in his voice hid just how hard it was: it was like being at the bottom of a deep lake, a deep lake of flame, having the pressure breaking in on your ears and crushing you, pushing in, in, in. But then the burden lightened, and Zuko turned to see his uncle, manipulating the explosion backwards overhead, standing by his nephew.

_And to think you nearly made the biggest mistake of your life by betraying Uncle._

The waterbender threw her arms upwards, freezing the wave she pushed before her, and all three of them rode the glistening ramp that had turned to ice, shooting up, out, and finally landing amid a huge splash of water on the docks.

Katara looked back at their work.

The explosions at the weak points Aiguo had plotted out on the bridge had sent tremors all the way across it, the massive structure. A feat of engineering, really: to bad that it had all but totally crumbled into the river. The navy docked here had faired no better, and Katara scrambled to her feet.

"Your leg, Miss Katara," Iroh pointed out, seeing the blood that still stuck to the partially healed wound. Katara looked down at it, pulling lose strands of her mahogany hair back in.

"It's fine, let's go."

Zuko had to allow the slightest bit of admiration for that: he knew most men under his command would have probably stopped fighting, after having their lower leg torn apart by an arrow. He recalled the girl saying she had healing abilities. It made sense.

"We have to get to Toph and Sokka!"

And she was so concerned for the safety of that buffoon and the blind girl that she didn't seem to notice that it still looked bad, probably going to scar, with a wound that size.

They ran off, Katara pressing water to her leg again.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Despite the fact that the other men had gotten captured, despite the fact that they were obviously outnumbered, and despite the fact that Sokka had somehow gotten separated from her…..

Toph was having the time of her life.

A quick stomp from her foot blasted two soldiers into the air, pillars of stone driving up underneath them. A rock, like a rogue missile, flew all over the place, in a twisted orbit around the earthbender as she swung it around, pushing it to do her will.

SMACK! THUD! Just what she liked to hear.

She heard footsteps behind her, the sound of metal scraping, and seized that sound with her own willpower and focused. There was a long, metallic whine, and the solider looked in awe as his spearhead curled slowly around, bending itself into a battered loop, until it was no longer a threat.

_Gee, I hope Twinkletoes and Sugarqueen are alright, though_…but it was a silly thought, she assured herself. They were tough, great benders. Nothing would ever happen to them. Never never never. She refused to even think of it, because it was so preposterous.

Toph smashed a wall upwards between herself and the heat she felt rushing towards her, diverting the flame and sending her stone tablet flying outwards. Ah, the sound of earth smashing things to bits. She had to savor it.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Sokka was determined to reach Toph, even though he knew she could take care of herself. The idea of something happening to Katara, to Toph, to Aang, it overpowered his own sense of well-being and drove him through the firebenders and soldiers. And what about Suki!? He had lost her once, and he was determined not to let another woman he loved die because he couldn't protect her.

Sokka parried a blow with his weapon, slamming it aside and striking a solid hit on the firebender's head. He turned aside and knocked another one backwards, his leg still sore from getting tackled before.

_Come on; fight your way over to Toph_….

His eyes widened as he saw on solider behind the little earthbender, while Toph was busy with two in front of her, hurling them sideways with a chunk of earth. _Well, hope she won't find out about this one…._

He yanked his boomerang from his back and hurled it, a long -practiced motion that he still prayed, out of habit, would hit its mark.

It did, and the man was knocked out cold.

Sokka caught it deftly as it returned faithfully, and threw it around again, knocking quite a few heads in the process.

_That's from the Water Tribe_, he couldn't help but smile.

"Sokka!"

No way.

But no, there she was, cutting through to him with what looked like some kind of garden tool. He was torn in his reaction: overjoyed to see her safe, but horrified that she had walked right into the heart of the danger.

But he knew she would have it no other way.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Getting everybody out of the dungeons was a little bit easier, since they were'nt going to climb all the way back onto the roof.

Aang and Aiguo led the mad charge down the main hall, the airbender throwing both huge doors wide open as they ran out into the night. Across the river, massive fires blazed, the bridge was gone, the ships blown to bits…..

"Avatar, can your beast carry all of us?"

"Sure he can: it's just across the river," Aang assured himself. Aiguo shoved an earthbender backwards with the flat of his blade as Aang pressed the bison whistle to his lips and blew, as the soft little puff was carried up to the roof. Come on, buddy, we need you now.

And Appa, as always, rose to the occasion magnificently, hurtling down onto the palace front steps and giving a good blow from his tail just for spite, an angry snort at the firebenders whose eyes had gone wide.

Aang wasted no time in throwing the prisoners onto the bison's back, about two dozen of them total. Appa was, of course, unaccustomed to having so many ride him, but he felt his human friend's desperation as if it were his own, and did not protest.

Aang was in mid-crouch to leap onto Appa himself, when a burst of light caught his eye, and he saw the tide of fire rolling towards them, jaws gaping to swallow them whole.

And he didn't think of fear.

And he didn't think of shame.

He thought of this great power that he was facing down, those he had to protect, and glared at it.

Taming it, bringing it under his will.

Friends later, discipline now.

_I'm the Avatar, and you're going to listen to me._

And he dug into the pool of energy at his center, in and out, in and out.

Now only out.

With a sweep from the boy's hand, the fire turned tail and flew backwards into the soldiers who had sent it at them, a blazing and formless missile as the Avatar redirected the flame.

Aang leapt onto Appa's back as he had been in the midst of doing before, snapping the reins, and they took off. Many of the freed prisoners gasped at they took to the air, overwhelmed and asking who he was.

But many needed no answer.

They knew, and they knew that the spirits had been listening to them now, those long, dark, dank and lonely nights.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

General Katsu was not pleased when he had been woken from his sleep by the explosions across the river.

He had been shocked to look out to see that the great bridge was gone.

Horrified to find out that all of their boats had been blown to bits at the only place they were docked. Why would they need them on this side? They had had the bridge.

Disgusted to hear that their armory on the East bank had been taken over by a bunch of rebels, along with some little runt of an earthbender and a tall boy with a boomerang. A _boomerang_! He was surrounded by idiots.

So he was in little mood to hear what the status quo was the next morning, after the rebellion, the rebellion that they had been informed of and set out to stop. A captain hurried into the war room where Katsu sat, head in his hands, muttering under his breath. Why now? What had caused this? And what was the nonsense his men were spouting about a flying bison, about a waterbending demon girl with strange powers, and even the Avatar?

"General Katsu?"

"What do you want?"

"We've gotten a message from the East bank, sir. Man named Aiguo. Do you want me to read it to…"

"Just tell me what it says, you imbecile."

"Um…he's declared the people of Geming in open and uncompromising rebellion, and hopes you enjoy laying siege to the East end without any boats."

"Oh, so that's the way it's going to be, eh? Fine. Execute all of our prisoners and ship their heads over to their relatives."

That had been his blackmail for the longest time, holding the death of loved ones over much of the rebel community's head. They were impossible to find as a whole, but one by one you could pick them apart. This would teach them……..

"Ah, the prisoners are gone, sir. The airbender and the rebel leader took them all, every last one."

"WHAT? Why didn't we know this was going to happen?"

"Ah!" the man yelped as the general sent a stream of flame flying at his head. "It wasn't specified! All the man we captured said was that there would be two men coming to the palace, and that was all his leader told him! We…we assumed they were going to assassinate you, so we placed…"

"I know what you thought they were going to do!! _Why weren't you guarding the prisoners??!!"_

The man did not answer, but dodged another blast that his commanding officer chucked at him.

"Do you know what Fire Lord Ozai is going to **do** to me if I can't sort this out?? Do you?"

Katsu's eyes were wide and wild, and he drew in a breath to quench some of the flames, pulling himself under a fragile composure.

"Send for troops. We'll need quite a few to burn the East end to the ground and exterminate these rats. Meanwhile, we're stuck here in the middle of this huge river."

The solider ran to go, hopefully to find some water and put out his singed hair.

Then he would send a request for troops. Lots and lots of them.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I really hate to have to leave you like this, sir," Aang said quickly as his group boarded Appa. These people had a rough time ahead of them, and he couldn't even stay and help. Aiguo only shrugged.

"All we needed was a push to get us going. It would have happened sooner or later, so stop your worrying. Just defeat the Fire Lord as soon as you can."

Aang nodded and leapt aboard Appa, looking back at his battered friends. The people had given them all new supplies, kindly, and Sokka and Toph had been able to hand over everything they had raided from the armory. A fair trade, Aiguo had said.

"The troops won't arrive for a while. It's still a long trip to the Fire Nation, so that gives you time to…."

"Don't worry," Aiguo sad firmly. He turned to Iroh and bowed very deeply.

"The garden gates are always open."

"I never forget that," Iroh smiled.

"Aang, enough! Let's get out of here; we're on a tight schedule."

Aiguo glanced up at Sokka, and said slyly, "Don't forget about that horse, boy."

Sokka grinned, and looked over at Suki, who raised an eyebrow.

Aang sighed, looking around at the street.

"Fine, fine, fine. Appa, yip yip!"

They flew off, and did not hear the cheers that they incited as they flew over the city, where the rebellious spark had quickly turned into a defiant flame.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Super long chapter, I know. Sheesh. Oh, and ONE THING! PLANT-BENDING IS INDEED CANON! Not some fifth bending I made up, in case people didn't catch that. In the episode, "The Swamp" in season 2, the gang meets up with some waterbenders who are able to manipulate plants by bending the water in them. I wanted to bring that back, a little, so I figured it would be interesting to give someone who works in a flower shop that ability. So yeah, see you in Chapter 18. **


	18. Chapter 18

Oh, you know what? I lied in that last author's note. There is a fifth style of bending; money bending!!! And the creators of this show, in which I am no way associated with, are masters at the art. So here's Chapter 18. Why aren't you reviewing????? Just kidding. Review if you like this.

Chapter 18 

It had taken Jin the good part of a week to get sufficient money together, a suitable amount for a bribe. After all, as her brother said, money was the universal tongue. So now she walked timidly up the palace steps, escorted by a Dai Li agent and clenching her hands together, hoping it would be enough. The robed solider shook the hefty bag she had given him one more time, looking back at her.

"And who is the prisoner you wish to see, again?"

"Tao, please, sir."

What had happened to Huian's father while he had been trapped in this huge prison? What if they had….

"Oh, him. Come on, then. If you make one move, I'll kill you." He threw back that last threat as almost an afterthought, not noticing the girl go tense with fear. True, Jin had snuck in a very tiny dagger, no longer than her index finger, but it was not as though she could actually use it or anything. She pleaded that this would go smoothly, as the earthbender spilt open a door in a solid rock wall.

"Come on, you urchin, I haven't got all day."

Jin walked forward, following the man's shadowy footsteps through the great palace and into the dark. Any other time, and for almost any other occasion, Jin would have been staring in absolute awe at the splendor of the magnificent palace, the gold and green, the statues of past leaders, the tapestries hanging from the walls.

But now all the shadows menaced her. All the guard's stares were poisonous and invasive, all the torches ready to burn her alive. She tried to quiet the hammering of her own heart, and wondered, fearfully, if Lee and his uncle were down there. Did they seem to be a threat to the Fire Nation? She had been to their shop in the Upper Ring: it was abandoned.

They turned several corners, trudged down many halls in total silence, before the sturdy, tall earthbender swung open a heavy iron door and motioned her downwards, slipping Jin's money under his shirt.

A long flight of stairs. For some reason, it smelt slightly of something burnt, a lingering stench to mix with the many other odors. And the floor, when she and the Dai Li finally reached the catacombs of dungeons! It was full of dents, as though it had been pounded through. What had caused that?

"Visitor, scum," the Dai Li snapped, kicking swiftly on the third door down. There was a grumble heard from the other side and Jin rushed forward, pressing her hands against the door and trying to see in. The Dai Li stood back and crossed his arms over his chest. Not like Jin had really expected him to leave them alone.

A hoarse, dry voice called from the darkness.

"Jin? Jin, what are you doing here, girl?"

"Coming to find you, sir. Where's Huian?"

"I don't know," Tao said, broken. "I haven't seen my wife or daughter since we were captured. Jin, you need to find…"

"I have him, Tao," she said in a very hushed tone. "Qiu's very worried for you."

"I wish I could alleviate his anxiety."

Jin looked hard at this strong man's face, now drawn and older than it had ever been before, lost and grieving the unknown. _Jin, what are you going to do?_

That was when another voice came from the shadows of Tao's cell. It was a very young, rather gruff and stubborn-sounding voice.

"Hey, Tao, who is that?" A small face loomed out of the dark, a round face of a little boy with shorn-off brown hair. Or was it a girl? Jin noted the thin, pale hands that wrapped around the bars of the iron door, the curve of the eyebrows and the lips. Probably a little girl, on second thought.

"A friend of my daughter's," Tao sighed wearily. "A friend who should leave right away and never come back to this horrible place."

The little girl gave Jin a hard stare, picking her apart and evaluating her. How did someone so young have such a piercing gaze? Jin nearly stepped back.

And then a third voice came. How many were in that cell? There was a rattling of chains, and it sounded like this one was shackled to the walls.

"Whose's there, Smellerbee?"

"Some friend, Jet. I dunno."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Everyone was exhausted, it was clear enough.

They had landed soon after departing, too strung out to sleep but too tired to keep flying. So, they simply sat. Well, all except for Iroh and Aang, who had told of his success in averting the fire. Iroh had beamed, and suggested they build on it.

The two stood, taking the same stance as always, Aang working on his breathing and shutting his eyes. This had to be his tenth try, with the focusing and the breathing and the control. But he still couldn't make even the tiniest little puff of flame come out of him. For spirit's sake, he had done it a _billion_ times in his past lives! And as he recalled, water had come very easy for him. Even earth, after he really put his mind to it and stood his ground, had worked out for him.

_Try to remember something from a past life, then_, he told himself. _Try to feel what the fire is like, its pulse, and its heat._

And still, he kept hitting a wall. So what was it that made firebending so impossible?

"Rrrrrgh…." He grumbled, standing again in the middle of the clearing. Appa was chewing on a bush nearby, already bored with watching his human friend's attempts.

Redirecting it was so much different that actually making it, that hungry blaze that had burned Katara once before. Was he afraid of it? _Yes,_ he thought. He was. Aang pulled out of his stance.

"This just isn't working, Sifu Iroh. I can't do it."

"Oh, **Sifu** Iroh? I like that. Zuko, what do you think? Sifu Iroh." The general laughed, and then looked seriously at Aang.

"We all have some obstacles we need to overcome, Aang. You're still working through yours: don't worry, though. The answer will come."

"Ah," Aang kicked at the dirt and sent up a little cloud, "that's what everybody keeps telling me. But I'm waiting and waiting, and the world is falling apart in the meantime."

"Yes, that is a bit of a problem."

Iroh looked down at the boy's feet absentmindedly, watching him wriggle his bare toes in the dust and dried grass of late spring. He wasn't sure of what to say to calm the boy's fears. Fire was, indeed, a dangerous element. The element of power. Power, which plants itself like a disease in the minds of men, corrupts the highest and purest of people.

Ozai was a prime example of one marked by fire, not physically, but in his own spirit.

Even the Devil was an angel once, struck down by the flame of power and pride.

Iroh tried to see how an airbender would approach this. But it was true, that the boy's nature and the element he was trying to master did not mix.

Nearby, Toph was keeping a small rock in a back-and-forth motion like a yo-yo, seeing how far she could let it reach before yanking it back again. She heard Aang's mutterings, the motion in the grass as he started over again.

She caught a whiff of that strange feeling again.

Twinkletoes was nervous, afraid of the thing he was trying to tame. That would never work.

"Hey, Twinkletoes," Toph shouted suddenly, shuffling over and rubbing sleep from her eyes, "Why don't we go work on some earthbending?"

She felt Aang's nervous vibrations lessen somewhat as she asked it. Pulling him out of the awkward situation, so to speak. Besides, she needed to get something straightened out with him. Aang bowed quickly.

"Thank you, Sifu Iroh."

"Ah, no problem. Good luck with the earthbending."

Aang bounded after Toph as she went out in search of a nice, solid patch of rock and earth to knock around for Aang's sake.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The ground was perfect under her feet. So secure and so solid, and just so _there._ Being grounded was the best sensation of all, especially after flying around where she couldn't feel any vibrations. She and Twinkletoes were pushing a rock back and forth between each other, sliding it as repetition practice, back and forth. Pushing, only pushing. That's what earthbending was. But, earthbending wasn't Twinkletoes's problem.

_Well, say something, Toph_.

"You know Twinkletoes, its okay to be scared once in a while."

She felt his heart beat faster at the mention of fear, as she tried to poke a response out of him. Aang straightened and thought.

Rather than deny the obvious, he took a breath to gather up his flurries of thoughts.

"Huh. I don't think so. I'm supposed to be brave and heroic and be able to master all four elements and defeat Fire Lord Ozai before the world gets destroyed. Not much room in there to be scared."

Toph snorted.

"Then how are you supposed to be brave if you aren't scared in the first place? If you're not scared, then the stuff you do is just showing off. It doesn't mean anything."

"I'll bet you never get scared," Aang said wishfully.

Toph considered agreeing to that. She hated being scared and hated saying she was scared. It made her feel exactly like what her parents thought she was: tiny and helpless and fragile. But denying it would ruin the point of this whole talk.

The earthbender sighed. She figured it was a contagious reaction in her little "family."

She did get scared, _sometimes. _

"I remember when I first started walking. I had already figured out how to feel vibrations, but Mom would never let me go more than a few steps before she trapped me. So I never got very far."

Aang tried to think of what being blind would be like. Disembodied voices, not knowing what color was. How did Toph do it? She stopped stone and kept talking.

"But one day, I snuck away while she was taking a nap: I just waited until her breathing got real quiet, and then I wriggled free. I was so excited that I shot off, wanting to get outside. But then something happened: I really did go blind."

Huh? Aang thought about it.

"All of a sudden, all I could feel under my feet was just this cold slipperiness, no vibrations, no rhythms, no earth. I fell, trying to find the edge of the surface I was stuck on, but I couldn't. And so I was just floating in total darkness, cold and flat on my face. And I couldn't see, and I got scared, so I started to cry."

Toph frowned.

"It was just patch of ice outside in the gardens, from when it had snowed the night before. When I got older I learned how to deal with it. But every now and then I'll lose touch like that somehow. I'll stop feeling vibrations, and I'll get really scared, because I'm afraid that this will be the time that I can't find them again."

Afraid of losing. Losing her vibrations, losing the feeling of support, the feeling of being grounded and firm.

Aang wondered if Toph could sense he was surprised. Toph, scared? She was always so tough, it was hard to imagine. But, **she** found ways to beat her fears. So he needed to beat his own, that were blocking his survival chakra, his earth chakra.

"Thanks, Toph."

"Not a problem, Twinkletoes."

"Toph? It's also okay to ask for help, when you're stuck out in the dark like that."

Aang pulled another rock up and bent it, splitting it sideways and pushing the two halves apart. He had never thought of what Toph's childhood had been like, growing up blind like she had. Maybe it was because he always forgot she really _was _blind, just like Sokka and Katara did. Toph didn't want any special treatment, and she didn't get any. He didn't see her blindness as something that was wrong with her, anyway.

But all the same, he wanted her not to be scared of losing those vibrations. If only he could.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

As a little girl, as far back as her memory went, Toph recalled thinking nothing of "being blind." Sight was not a sense to her. She could touch and hear and feel and taste, and she thought that everybody was like that. Darkness was a word that meant nothing to her, and so was light. She couldn't touch them or hear them, so why did people talk about them? It made no sense.

So as she felt her way around, memorizing everything, she learned by the sensations that things had, the names people gave them.

Wind was like Mother's hair tickling her nose, but stronger and smoother. She related it to silk, but freer and lighter, un-weighted by concerns.

Water was cooling and wet, cool like the tiles on the patio, nice and quenching when she had fevers, embracing as she splashed in it.

Fire was hot, a warmth that danced and flared, but caused her great pain when she got too close. And of course, earth was her favorite. When she had discovered that she could move it, not just feel its vibrations and her connection to it, Toph had laughed in delight.

But there was always one thing that puzzled her, one thing that people talked about all the time, that no matter how hard she listened or rubbed or smelt, she couldn't detect anything special about.

Colors, they were called. Green this, blue that, red those, yellow these. What were they? A piece if silk called "green" felt just like a piece of silk called "red." Paints all felt the same squishy consistency in her hands, the time she had broken into them and dug her little fingers in. So what was this color? She remembered a woman's voice, saying sweetly what entrancing, light green eyes she had, which was followed by a mumbled response from her mother.

Green? She had green eyes? What were eyes for, anyway?

So she had gone to Mother, almost two years old, walked over to her and given the frail blossom of a woman a blank stare. And she had asked,

"Momma, what's 'green?'"

Her mother had paused, silent for a long time, before she had started to cry. What had she done wrong? Toph wondered. Where you not supposed to ask about green? Was it not allowed? Toph had stepped backwards, listening to her mother sob.

"My poor, poor little daughter! Oh, why was this cruel hand dealt you? Why was my daughter born blind, spirits? Why?"

She had sunk to her knees, her daughter trying to wipe away the warm sadness that was called tears. Was she the only one who couldn't do this thing, "see?" Something was wrong with her, and it made Mother sad.

And for the first, but certainly not last, time in her life, Toph Bei Fong was ashamed of being blind.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

And now, the question arose again in her mind, ten years later with so much changed between then and now. She hurled a rock at Aang, which she heard him swing back at her quickly. He had a good grip on rock: a good stubbornness. So why couldn't he do the same thing with fire?

"Hey, Twinkletoes," Toph asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

That broke his focus, and she heard the rock collide with him, knocking him to the ground with a thud. He stomped over to her.

"You did that on purpose! You just wanted to distract me!!"

Toph put a hand on his narrow chest, briefly feeling the familiar heartbeat beneath it, and pushed him back. Personal space, after all.

"No, I seriously wanted to ask you something. I asked my mom once, but she didn't understand."

Aang blinked, trying to clear dust from his eyes.

"Okay, ask."

"Can you tell me what 'green' is like?"

Aang blinked again, but this time to emphasize his surprise. What? How did you describe a color to a blind person? He made a few false starts, a few 'umms' and 'uhhhs.' Come on, he was the _Avatar_. Gifted with great spiritual wisdom and insight!

And, he reminded himself, Toph was blind.

She was not deaf, she was not mute, and she could touch things. She just experienced her world in a different way than he did. So, how could he use the things Toph could 'see' to relate?

"Well, uh, green. Green reminds me of…." He concentrated. "Spring. You know that fresh smell right after a big rainstorm? I think of green when I smell that. Plants, earth, new life and stuff. Green is like a calm feeling, but it's still got a strong vibrancy to it. Quiet strength, you know?"

Toph nodded for him to continue.

"And for some reason, I think of the sound of drums, with green. With yellow, I think of wind chimes. Weird, huh?"

Toph loved the sound of drums. So earthy, so deep, so pulsing. It reminded her of earthbending, and now it would remind her of green.

"Oh, and you know what else?"

"What, Twinkletoes?"

"I think of you, too. I always put green with earth, and since you're an earthbender…."

Toph smiled. Okay, he had done his best. It made a little bit of sense, and it was much much better than crying in response. She was quiet strength? Okay, maybe not totally.

They resumed their earthbending lessons.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Thinking of Toph's childhood and her mother, it cycled Aang's thoughts to rest upon his own. He had never met her, never even known what she looked like; he was raised in the Southern Air Temple by the monks, after all.

But sometimes, he liked to imagine who his mother had been.

As he sat around their fire, watching his friends poke at the cooking and chatter, with Zuko hanging back and chewing bitterly, it was hard to imagine what a real "family" was like. This felt like it, bonded together, close and sharing with each other.

So what had his mother been like?

He thought she must have been lovely, with a young, kind and gentle face. With a voice like Katara's, gentle most of the time, understanding. Singing some little lullaby to her child. She was always beautiful, in his imaginings, with soft, long hair. Always light and free like the air, the nation she came from. She was a sweet and wonderful person, who, in the back of his mind, Aang though about every so often.

Strange how someone he had never known could take up his thoughts like that, he reflected.

Aang lay down to sleep with the rest of his companions, watching the campfire die to a few embers, a faint glow.

With the image of his mother floating around, the Avatar went to sleep.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aya of the Air Nomads had been, in truth, very little like her son imagined her: on the outside, at least.

She was in her forties, actually, and it was always thought to be such a shame that she had been found barren. So generous a soul, so kind. A little bit too truthful at times, with an initially hard voice, but golden on the inside. She and her husband Tam had so much love to offer and no child to offer it to, as they approached an older age.

So it was very strange, what happened in the streets that day.

Aya had been moving through the crowd, visiting with her old friend in Ba Sing Se on her way to visit the Western Air Temple, where her husband was to meet up with her. A very long year of travel and teaching for the two airbenders, seeing very little of each other. She missed Tam, missed him like a piece of her heart, but seeing Lin had lifted her spirits some.

Aya had pulled her hat down lower over her plain face and her unusually dark, short hair. Her husband, with his own bald head, had always laughed and said how envious of her he was, especially on hot sunny days like this one. But, baldness was a small price to pay to bear the blue airbending tattoos that Tam had earned with long years of training and effort. Mastery, of course, that Aya had not achieved.

But under the brim of the hat, she happened to spot an old woman, suddenly, sitting by the side of the street, calling to people as they passed, "Spare some water? Spare some water?"

Aya was shocked. How could anybody walk around her, hide their faces from the Earth Kingdom woman? Aya strode across the road, getting bumped in several directions, unusually tall and strong-shouldered for an airbender, pulling her water pouch from her side.

"Here, sister, drink this."

Lifting it to the woman's cracked lips, the water had dribbled in, cool reprieve from the dusty road. A moment later, Aya had taken off her hat and placed it on the old woman's head. _That may help_.

The woman had looked up at her with strangely pale green eyes, as though coming out of a daze, and she had abruptly snatched Aya's hand. The hat toppled from the woman's head, and Aya had looked down curiously at the woman's gnarled grip.

"Woman! Pure souled woman, you know not your worth!"

"What?"

"Rejoice! You're going to have a child, a child that the world calls out for in time of need…"

Aya smiled, patting the woman's hand with sadness in her eyes. Gray eyes, which she would pass on to Aang. She just hoped it wasn't the heat that was affecting the woman.

"I'm far too old to have a child, sister.It would be impossible, as much as I would want one."

"Ha! Nothing is impossible if _He_ so wills it to be! And this will not be any ordinary child! He is the one who will quench the fires and drive back the shadows, whose name will ring to the end of age! Water, Fire, Earth, all will shore him up and guide him, the great one…."

Aya took the woman's arm and was walking her down the street as she cried, drawing quite a bit of attention now, and she had left the woman with a healer to be taken care of. The voice rang in her ears as she bade the old woman fair well.

But she could not forget the woman's words.

Especially after, three months later, she was found to, really, be with child. _Impossible_, the other women said.

But there was nothing _unusual_ about her baby, right? Even in that, circumstances set to sway Aya's opinion.

Like how her airbending strength must have doubled, or tripled, at least. She could knock even Tam around like a feather, to her utter amazement.

Like the way that she had walked outside of her home one morning, on her way to feed their air bison in the stable, and a huge rain puddle had suddenly frozen under her feet.

Or the time when she had been hefting hay, pushing gusts of wind up under it to sweep it into the loft, and a black nightshade had suddenly fallen out of it. It had been a huge snake, certainly filled with enough venom to kill herself and her child, rising to strike…when out of absolutely nowhere a white sparrow-cat had leapt and killed it, walking off afterwards and disappearing.

And when Aya dreamt of soldiers coming to the Western Air Temple, destroying it, killing herself, Tam and her son, dreamt of a huge war on the horizon, she knew what she needed to do.

But it had still been hard, to let little Aang go, so little time of holding him in her arms before she was to hand him to the monks at the Southern Air Temple. He was the Avatar, she was sure of it, and as the monks looked upon him, their eyes had lit up.

_Keep him safe_, she had begged the spirits. _Send him someone to protect him, someone to care for him, teach him, and love him. Everything one needs, really. No matter what his destiny._

And she prayed that her son would not be haunted by any memories of her.

_Be strong, my little airbender. Never give up without a fight._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N; This was a lot of hodgepodge memory stuff, along with something from Ba Sing Se. And I just thought of the weirdest pairing: has Jin/Jet ever been done before? What do you think? Hahahahahahahaha. Review, or I swear I'll stop with the crazy updating! So if you like this fic, review it!!!! Thank you very much!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Whoa! Here is number 19, moving on with our lives. Seriously, does anybody read the author's notes? Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, the Avatar world or its characters. Are you happy? Because now I'm depressed.**

Chapter 19

Katara's eyes snapped open in the pale morning light, her body stiffened with the coolness of the dawn and the tension her dream had wound her into. A dream that, ever so conveniently, she couldn't remember as she sat up.

Everyone else was still asleep, of course. Just as well.

She kicked her way out from her sleeping skins, limping slightly over to their fire pit: hopefully she would have more luck starting the fire again than last time, as she piled the kindling atop the few logs. Several strikes with the spark rocks…there. Perfect.

A few pokes at the logs, and they rolled over, spreading the flame around. The spreading fire: Katara studied it absentmindedly. How quickly it grew, how fast it consumed the wood and all she threw into it. The thought of having to master it as Aang was trying to do scared her. To have that furious blaze somewhere inside you? No, she couldn't imagine. _Fire is a terrible burden…_

And yet the fire was very beautiful, in a way. Its gold warmth that she pressed her hands to now, and set Iroh's little teapot over. How often had she appreciated fire on those biting cold nights at the South Pole? Destructive yet necessary, consuming but life-giving.

She just hoped that firebenders had their good points as well.

Katara was putting the tea leaf bundles she had been given by that shop owner into the pot, letting it steep as she sifted through the bags to find a cup. True, she did not normally like tea. But having the warmth in her dry, sore throat would be pleasant, a calming way to clear her head and start the day.

When she turned back to her little campfire, she jumped involuntarily as she saw Iroh sitting across from her.

"My apologies: I startled you?"

"Ah, you were just, um, quiet. That's all. Good morning." Katara pulled out two cups instead, handing one to the old firebender. The kind, humorous, mentoring firebender. He was nothing like what she thought he should be: was he an anomaly, or were there lots of firebenders like him that she had just never met?

"Here, would you like some…"

"I would love some, Miss Katara."

She lifted the pot off and poured the steaming liquid into the cup, trying to focus and not scald him…whoops. It was angled too far over, the top came tumbling off, and…

Trying to avert disaster, she seized the spilling tea and bent it back into the pot.

"Thank you. That saved me a bit of pain."

"Sorry." She mumbled, embarrassed. She sipped her tea, watched Zuko's uncle sample his own and contemplate the taste. Katara raised an eyebrow.

"Umm….something wrong?"

A few moments went by while Iroh considered his answer, and when it came, she was surprised.

"No, not at all. In fact, it's quite exquisite. Very full, rich taste to it: job well done."

_Boy, he really does love tea_. "Thank you, sir."

"Making a good pot of tea isn't easy. My nephew is still working on it."

The idea of Zuko bustling around a tea shop and sampling the flavors, proclaiming his love for jasmine, making small talk with customers: it sent a twitch across Katara's face, the beginnings of a smile. Zuko, the tea-bending master.

"Oh, is he?"

"My nephew is a very skilled young man. He has many talents, but I'm afraid making tea is not one of them."

_Neither is communication. _

"I see."

It left Katara wondering what Zuko's other 'talents' were. And then came another bizarre image, of the prince playing the sungi horn. Or some other large, awkward instrument. Spirits help her.

She looked back over at her friends, still slumbering. Sometime during the night, Sokka's arm had artfully wound itself around Suki, and now he was attached to her like a child as he pulled her in. Suki did not seem displeased: she seemed to have scooted closer into the embrace, and the image was all too comical. Aang, as always, was sleeping without any blankets or bed rolls, content to be pressed next to Appa and Momo, and Toph was in one of her earth tents. Basically, everything was as it should be. She turned, satisfied.

"So, what's your story?"

"Excuse me?"

Iroh smiled. "You and your brother. I remember seeing you at the South Pole, so I can only assume that you're from the Southern Water Tribe. I'd never been there before, you know. I've studied waterbenders before: tried to incorporate their style with firebending. I only visited the Northern Tribe."

"They're not so different, I guess."

"Hmm. So you were born there?"

"Yeah. Sokka and I had never left the South Pole, before we met Aang."

"Oh yes. Sokka, that's his name. I was afraid to ask: I thought it would be awkward. Your brother is quite a character."

Katara nodded. Yeah, he pretty much was, in both a good and a bad way. A pain, sometimes, but she reminded herself of how it was Sokka she had first thought of, on the bridge in Geming. Iroh kept talking.

"You and your brother are very close, yes?" It interested Iroh, the way the other nations interacted with each other. Always had. And the relationship the Water Tribe siblings seemed to have was so many worlds apart from the one he and his own brother shared, even as children. Or Zuko and Azula, for that matter.

"We fight a lot, but I guess we're close."

A pause.

"You know, when he really starts to annoy me, when I think I'm just gonna explode, I always remember this one time when we were little, when he got to play "hero" and saved me."

"Hmm." Iroh considered, and returned to his tea while Katara rummaged for something to eat.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Katara remembered it very clearly now, looking over at her snoring brother. She had been five, he seven, he the intrepid explorer and hunter, she the tag-along nuisance. She had been bounding out on the ice field, Sokka carrying his supplies over his shoulder. Ice fishing? She loved going ice fishing! But, of course, he had yelled at her and told her to get lost. Did she listen? Of course not.

So she had hung around as Sokka broke open a hole in the thick ice to reach the dark water below, fumbling as he dropped the meat in to draw the silver fish that came through this time of year. Katara had leaned over, spotting the sleek bodies swimming beneath the surface. He was never gonna catch one that way, silly.

So, assuming he would welcome assistance, Katara had pulled at the fish and the water, unpracticed and more at the water's mercy than anything else.

It had burst from the hole, scaring away the fish, getting Sokka thoroughly soaked, snapping the spear he had just spent the last two months making and washing his bait away. In short, ruining his afternoon.

In as harsh of terms as the squeaky and lisping voice of a seven year old could, he had yelled at her, saying he hated her stupid "magic water" and how she always thought she could do things better, he hated her and he was never talking to her ever again.

So, naturally, when his little sister had started crying, he just stormed off, knowing he would get in loads of trouble as soon as Katara ran away and told on him. When it had been _her _fault, too! Stupid Katara.

She had sat there on the ice, sniffling and watching her brother walk away. What she hadn't been watching was the very large, torpedo shaped shadow quickly moving under the ice, towards where the disturbance had come from, the smell of meat.

And when the enormous arctic pike had smashed through the ice and grabbed her by the foot to pull her under, Katara had screamed.

Through her fear, she remembered Sokka shouting, grabbing her by the arms while the fish had her boot, a tug-of-war that could not have lasted more than ten seconds, with Katara as the prize. Ten very long and scary seconds, until the fish had realized that it was not interested and swum away.

So Sokka had gotten a reprieve from getting in trouble, the spear totally forgotten as he carried his sister home with the bite marks on her leg.

It hadn't scarred, but scarring enough had been Sokka's endless bragging about his "duel" with the monster in the months to follow.

**Brothers.**

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Now, looking back, at how she had been worried about having a scar on her legs, at what Sokka had done for her, it was a reminder to Katara that when it was down to the wire, she and Sokka looked out for each other. Simple as that.

But thinking about scars reminded her of the tea shopkeeper, asking about her other "brother," as Zuko had called himself, Lee. Lee and Zula. The idea was still absurd.

Katara handed a piece of bread over to Iroh, trying to form her question without seeming intrusive. _But it **is** kinda intrusive_…

"Can I ask you something?"

"I suppose. What is it?"

"Um, I was curious," she took a breath, "How did Zuko get that scar? I mean, a woman in Geming asked me about it, and that got me wondering…"

Iroh nodded. "I understand. But I think that's something he should reveal on his own, when he's ready." And left it at that.

She was unsatisfied, but she chose to respect the opinion.

_When he's ready? Great spirits, what had happened to him?_

"Morning, Katara," said a bright voice behind her suddenly.

"Oh, hi Aang."

"Is that a spring cantaloupe there? Can I have some?" he pointed to the pale green fruit sitting on top of the other supplies, a "gift" from one of the merchants whose son Aang had broken out of the prison.

Zuko forgotten for the moment, Katara smiled at Aang. Their success at Geming, even if it had been a close call , had lifted his spirits some. Good. A gloomy and self-pitying Aang wasn't something Katara was ready for.

"Sure. Save some for Sokka, he wanted to try it too."

"But it's so small….and what if he doesn't like it?"

"Trust me, I will," came a grumble from the other sleeping skin.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ah, nothing like a good waterbending lesson to clear out your head.

Aang and Katara had waded into the water that flowed lazily by where they had set up camp, letting Sokka sit nearby with Suki to figure out the fastest route to the port city Katsu… or some name like that. Toph was splashing her feet in the water, but not daring to go in any farther, while Iroh looked on with genuine interest. Zuko did not seem to be as captivated, and appeared to be meditating. Meditating with a distasteful expression on, that was.

"Okay, Katara, what do you think we should work on?"

"I wasn't sure. I was thinking of some work with the water whip."

"Really? That seems kinda…basic."

"Yeah. But think about it." She pulled the water up and into her hands, making it circle around itself in a silvery disc. "When you face the Fire Lord, you're probably not going to have a river nearby."

Aang nodded, shadowed now by slight dread.

Katara backed into her stance, lengthening the water in her hands and raising it up.

"Your water whip against mine, sound good?"

Aang pulled his own stream of water. "Yep."

"Then let's go."

And, did they ever. Striking against each other, offense and defense switching back and forth. Like many of Aang's training sessions, for brief moments it went from a lesson to a contest of who the better bender really was. Funny how Toph and Katara where both competitive that way.

Katara's water whip darted out and wrapped around Aang's foot, jerked it out from underneath him. He landed in the shallow water with a loud splash, but not before his own water whip caught "Sifu" Katara in the ear.

"Ouch..." she muttered, bringing the whip in a tight curl and striking Aang's away. The airbender pulled himself up into sitting out of the water, picking weeds off of his head and from behind his ears.

"General Iroh," Katara asked lightly, "was this the type of thing you studied when you visited the waterbenders?"

"Really? Why did you do that?" Aang asked, getting to his feet and shaking off.

"I thought that using other techniques of bending would improve my own. I was still pretty ambitious back then. Trying to stay ahead of my peers, that is."

Aang wondered how that would work out. Firebend like a waterbender would, airbend like an earthbender would. Weird.

"Would you like to practice with us?" Aang offered instantly. So quick to make friends…Katara thought it an odd offer, but she saw no point in protesting. What if firebending moves would help her waterbending? No, probably not. Iroh shrugged.

"Well, you're never too old to learn." He got to his feet, took off his boots, and waded into the water: a social thing, considering he wasn't going to bend it.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

Katara looked over. Zuko's eyes were open now, but he still wore the same expression.

"Studying. Care to join?"

"What is this, a festival?" Sokka quipped, rolling up his map and stuffing it away in his bags. "We'll have to go soon, Katara."

"Oh, in a minute, Sokka."

Iroh was still awaiting Zuko's response, trying to push his nephew into the "family." Sokka snorted.

"Oh, please. Like Scarface is going to splash around with you guys. Royal pain probably thinks he's too good for us…" Sokka really didn't care if he was toying with death. Zuko didn't scare him, and he had to establish that fact… stupid superiority-delusional jerk.

Zuko met and matched Sokka's glare, and decided that Sokka was the type who enjoyed being right all the time. He also decided that he was out to displease this disrespectful Water Tribe boy.

Although, perhaps Sokka was not as complete a buffoon as Zuko thought. In fact, the warrior smirked triumphantly as the muttering prince crashed loudly into the water, not bothering to remove anything as he did. One could always count on Zuko to be antagonistic, even if he had to get his feet wet. Literally.

"Well," Katara sighed, turning her back to Zuko, "Aang, I'm going to send a few ice daggers your way. Block them and send them back: try to only use the water whip."

"Sounds good. I'm ready."

Katara reached out and snatched slivers of water up, letting her energy flow through her in short bursts and freeze them: shot them as quickly as she could, and watched Aang deflect them just as swiftly, each one turning in its path.

She raised up thin wedges of water to intercept the frozen knives, and let the daggers turn to liquid once again.

"Heads up!"

Katara gave a good yank and a push, a big wave that rolled over and pulled Aang under the water in its curl. He rose up like a buoy a few seconds later, sputtering and laughing before swinging a water whip towards Katara, which she turned with the motion of.

As though she were batting something away from her, Katara smacked aside the whip in midair, breaking from Aang's control to swirl around her and become her own weapon, all in one smooth motion. Like a flow of movements and energy.

Zuko remembered his uncle telling him how waterbenders used that flow, how he had found it to re-direct Azula's lightning. He had fought the waterbender before, but had never really bothered to observe the style or the fluidity of the technique, as opposed to the power and speed of firebending.

Not that the girl was at all, in her overall demeanor, like he thought a bender should be. He remembered Azula's face, when she had been practicing and sparring. Cold, separated, sometimes glaring or frowning. Unpredictable and strong. Her perfection came from nowhere as she made flames dance around her.

With the peasant girl, she wore her every emotion as she bent. The effort was obvious, visible in her tensed jaw, constantly furrowed brow, a bead of sweat. A tense expression when she was on the defensive. And, very often, a joyful smile as she performed the motions, a connection to her abilities and what they meant to her. Not the best tendencies for a warrior to have, he had to say. She was too human in her fighting. She showed far too much. If you had to show anything to your enemy, let it be anger.

The airbender was no better, really. Dodging about, laughing or grinning victoriously. He was so light on his feet that it was impossible not to notice the freedom of his motions, even as he was waterbending. Airbenders, nomads, so detached from the world. Not the best tendencies for someone who was supposed to save it to have.

But, it was interesting. Turning his opponents against themselves as the water peasant had done. Something to put away for later use.

Anything further was cut off.

"Okay, playtime's over! Come on, we haven't got all day!"

Sokka pulled out his map again to get another look. "The way I see it, it'll take us a few weeks to fly to the upper tip of the Earth Kingdom where this city is. It's going to bring us closer to the Fire Nation's North Shore where Dad said he was going to be. That's good, considering that the eclipse is about _two months away_!! So would you hurry up?"

And, the comet was at the end of the summer, he reminded himself. Hurry up big time.

"Yeah, I'm bored," Toph called, already climbing onto Appa's enormous back. The sky bison grunted, giving his neutral opinion in the matter. Suki agreed with Sokka on this one.

"Fine, fine, we're coming. Thanks for, um, studying," Aang said. "I hoped you learned something."

"Oh, it was my pleasure. You're both very skilled." Iroh folded his hands respectfully.

Aang smiled, betraying his utter love of praise. Then again, who doesn't love it?

Zuko also walked out of the water, realizing how soaked his only clothes were now. He made sure to glare at Sokka one last time before they took off.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Azula turned to Ty Lee, who walked at her side down the palace halls of Ba Sing Se, Mai a few steps out of synch with the other two. Mai shot a quick glance over at one of those Dai Lee puppets, who was escorting some scruffy looking girl away.

Azula spoke up, her voice echoing.

"I think I'm going to have to be leaving soon, I'm afraid. When the troops arrive."

Ty Lee's wide, bright eyes blinked.

"Huh? How come? Ooh, is it because Zuko…"

"No. The Avatar and those peasants are going to pull something with the eclipse, and I want to be there to welcome them. It should take me about three weeks as it is just to get there."

Mai frowned. What could the Avatar possibly do now? It's not like he had any safe havens left to turn to; his cause looked pretty hopeless.

"So, what, are you going to leave us in charge of Ba Sing Se or something?"

"I'm still debating on that." In Azula's own terms, it was that she wasn't sure she could trust them that much.

"Ty Lee and I can handle it," Mai sighed. Although the thought of giving the bubbly girl that much power was, at heart, slightly unnerving.

"Well," Ty Lee smiled, "if you see that cutie little boomerang boy again, tell him I said…"

"Oh please, Ty Lee. Have mercy. The food is terrible enough once around," Mai cut off flatly. Ty Lee only gave a sugary laugh.

Azula seemed not to notice either of them, rubbing the burn mark on the side of her face. It was becoming a terrible little habit for her, a reminder of Zuko's rebellion. Was his scar a reminder of his shame and failure? Azula could only hope so. She had a feeling Zuko was traveling with the Avatar now. His treachery was complete. Just as well: Father would be interested.

Yes, Azula thought. It was time for a family reunion. For old times' sake.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

**A/N: There. Next chapter is going to be some stuff on Sozin and Ozai, really. I was trying to get something on the comet and why it was how Sozin started the war. So, uh, yeah, I'll work on that. Thank you very very very very much for all of your reviews! Have a Happy New Year. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Well, well, well. Well. Here's Chapter 20. I can't believe it! Amazing. This next chapter, I thought that I should give some attention to Ozai and Sozin. Disclaimer: I own none of the rights to Avatar, and the only characters that are "mine" are the little plot-device people. So, yeah, read on!!**

Chapter 20

Sozin was waiting.

He was standing on the temple steps, casting occasional glances up at the half-moon in the sky, and awaiting the messenger he had sent for. They were running late, as of now.

The Fire Lord did not often enjoy having his patience tried, and this was not an exception, as he paced. His footsteps echoed in the empty stone terrace, adjusting his hood in the occasional wind. His golden eyes peered out into the night again, and he continued to wait.

And then, quite suddenly, his eyes picked out something, below and in the garden as it advanced on the temple stairs. A shadow that did not move in the wind with the rest, but seemed to have a life of its own, slithering and creeping.

Sozin stepped back, into his ring of torchlight, as he watched the shadow fold over the steps like black silk, molding with the darkness around it for brief moments. It reached the top and swept past him with nothing more than a rush of air, a brush of his cloak, and his nose caught the scent of something unpleasant.

Sozin turned and followed the shadow, through the great stone columns, and into the Fire Temple, the slightest slithering noise like scales on the smooth tile. The soft torchlight reached only so far, and it finally touched the walls of the main hall, empty of the monks that normally populated it. Nothing there, except the faint presence and the unidentifiable smell.

Sozin walked forward, and let the torch drop into the oil basin, which flared up and lit immediately. He had hoped it would give him a better look at his company, but the shadow retreated a few paces, an act of secrecy rather than fear, and all he could pick out in the sharp shadows were a pair of very golden eyes.

The spirit suddenly spoke to the man that could see it, in a low, harsh, grating voice that pricked Sozin with an unfamiliar feeling.

"What do you want?"

It was a simple question, in a smooth and persuasive tone, to which Sozin was able to respond with assurance.

"Power. I want power. Over this world and everyone in it."

The sound that followed was a horrible one, but Sozin could only assume that the thing was laughing. Laughing, at him. The fire jumped up a few feet.

"Ah, don't they all. And over the whole world, no less? You're an ambitious little mortal. The Master was quite right."

"I thought you were here to make a deal with me."

Something lashed in the shadows that reminded Sozin of a long, whip-like tail, but most of his attention was on the pinpoint eyes that looked at him across the fire. A curve of white teeth glinted.

"Oh, I am, Fire Lord Sozin. I was just thinking."

"Can you be of any assistance to me, or am I wasting my time?"

"No, no. Time with me and my kin is _never_ wasted. I was just trying to determine if you are worth the trouble."

"How dare you…" he snarled, dragging some of the fire of the blaze into his own hands. The spirit made the laughing noise again, deriving delight from this man's quick temper.

"Ah, put it away, brother Sozin. You have no idea how poor it would be to engage me in an Agni Kai."

Sozin snorted and kept the flame dancing in his hands, the gold crown fixed in his hair flashing in its light.

"So, I believe we may be able to help you," the spirit finally spoke. Sozin looked at him critically.

"How? How will you be able to aid me in achieving this goal?"

"Simple, my little meat," and it ran a black tongue over its teeth for emphasis. "It's all a matter of fear and intimidation. A flat out war upon these people that will shroud the world in death and shadow."

"That's it? I have not the armies to do that."

"But you have the hatred and you have the willpower, and in our dealings, that is more than enough." The spirit's eyes narrowed. "You firebenders rely upon the celestial bodies to draw strength from, am I correct in saying so?"

"The sun, yes."

"Hmm. So we will send you a sign, a mark of the beginning of your power. To your men it will give strength hundredfold: use it to make your first strike."

"Is that all? When will I be victorious?"

The dark spirit gave a large sigh.

"Now, that's the thing. We are not given looks into the future as clearly as we would like to have it; I cannot tell you what moves the _Enemy_ will make, but I can tell you that you will not see the victory in your lifetime."

Sozin was shocked for several reasons, the most obvious being that he was being cheated in this shady deal. But what was also surprising was that, as the spirit spoke, Sozin could have sworn he heard the tiniest bit of fear in the shadow's voice. The eyes sparked as Sozin spoke.

"Not in my lifetime, eh? Then how can you come here with the promise of power?"

"Oh, but you will see a people fall, great conquests completed, the roots of an empire set down. You will make the opening plays in a hundred year conflict."

"One hundred years? Surely you jest."

"Never. World conquest is a gradual thing, I'm afraid. But in those hundred years will only be steps forward, and at that century's end, the world will be ripe for your descendant's taking."

Another pause from the creature, and there was a scraping of scales as it shifted its position. "But there is one thing that must be done, one thing that I should warn you of."

"And what is that, spirit?"

"One will arise from the Air Nomads. A leader, a savior, who can prevent these things from happening. The Avatar, as I believe you call him?"

"I thought the Avatar was part of the spirit world as well, your fellow…"

"Ahh!" the thing hissed disgustedly. "No. The Avatar is an agent of the Enemy, a weapon against the Master." And there was that hint of fear again.

Sozin thought, remembering rumors of the Avatar's birth more than twelve years ago. He would be only a boy now, training with the monks.

"Do you want me to kill him, is that it?"

"Fool. You'd be throwing the fish back into the river. Losing the Avatar to the Water Tribe, and then the Earth Kingdom, your own Nation after that. A never ending cycle. No, I want you to capture him alive and bring him here before this place we now stand. And I will come and deal with him."

"What do you want him for?"

A rustling like a shudder of pleasure, and the eyes glazed over for a moment. "To poison a soul as powerful as that…it would be delicious. A victory. And then, you and your bloodline will establish the Master's kingdom on earth, and everything will be perfect."

Sozin nodded slowly. "Hmph. How hard can it be to catch a little boy?"

"Mortal! Never judge. From the lowest of people has arisen the highest of kings: that is a lesson the Master learned all too well."

"Am I to expect a long hunt?"

"I don't know. But I do know that the Enemy will not leave the boy unguarded. No, no, he will send protectors, warriors, great players in the conflict, pure of soul. There is nothing I hate more that the virtuous type that these guardians will be. Water, Earth, Fire, Air, all will do their part."

"Fire? My own kind will be traitorous against the cause?"

"Ah, that's a cog in the machine. Some feel a higher calling than power."

Sozin was not sure if he wanted to agree, hesitant. Somewhere within, something was writhing and crying out for him to run from this presence. But the Fire Lord ignored it, shrugged the uncertainty away. You had to take these opportunities when they came along, after all.

"I'll do it. I'll hunt your Avatar in exchange for the comet."

"In a hundred years time, expect it to reappear. It will close the battle that you will open, and you can only hope that the Avatar is not there to stop it from happening; after the comet comes again and your Nation is successful, your kind will reign forever."

Sozin smiled, very satisfied indeed now.

The spirit suddenly leapt out over the fire, snuffing it out with a single stroke and clearing the air over Sozin's head, unsettling the crown. And he caught a nose full of that smell that the spirit carried with it.

Several years later, Sozin would be traveling, on his way to destroy the Western Air Temple and engage a strange, older, gray -eyed woman and her husband in quite a battle before he killed them. He would stop to climb up a volcanic mountain, attempting to spot the temple roosting among the formations, and he would smell that same stench again. And Sozin would know that it was the smell of sulfur, fire and brimstone.

But he did not know that now, as the cold shadow leapt over him to slink away.

"I do not understand one thing, spirit."

The gold eyes fixed on him once more, awaiting his question.

"Why is the price so little, for such great power? Why are you handing this to me, with only a passing warning about a little boy? Are you that free in your dealings?"

And the thing smiled, a long, wicked one that made its eyes burn like flame. The Master, the Fallen One, the Morning Star: he would be delighted, the spirit was sure.

"Ah, Fire Lord Sozin, if only you knew."

The shadow curled in on itself and vanished with a laugh. And repeated the same thing that, in sixty years time, Sozin would, delusional with fever on his deathbed. Saying it over and over and over again, while cringing from the shadows and the one who was coming to claim him to them:

"If only you knew."

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

The day Fire Lord Ozai was born was nothing spectacular, really. Business as usual. The sun had not been any brighter, the few animals around the palace had not been acting oddly, nothing to mark the event that was about to occur.

Young Iroh, a dashing commander who had just reached his twentieth birthday, was strolling along the hallways with a proud expression on. He was a very tall and broad-shouldered man, black hair cropped short and rather haphazardly, a slant always in his smile. Kazah, she was playing hard to get, hiding behind her fan from him as he walked by. Oh well. She wouldn't last long… Iroh was certain of it.

He spotted his mother Iyla coming in the opposite direction, a pretty woman in of thirty seven years: she had birthed Iroh when she was only seventeen, a young flower given to Azulon as a peace offering. Soft eyes, but a sharp nose.

"Ah, Mother, good to see you're out," he smiled. Iyla turned her attention to him with a stern expression on her face and a rustling of her red robes.

"Iroh! There you are, you scoundrel. General Koji just talked with me: do you want to know what he said?"

"Not particularly, if you do mind me saying so."

"You skipped out on your training session again. Why, to go bat your eyes at that shameless flirt? Iroh, I don't want you near her."

"Oh, now come mother. Father will roast me alive if he finds out that I got you worked up with our next of kin so close to arrival."

"Not another word from you, you devilish young ma…." And perfectly on cue, Fire Lady Iyla had gasped, grasping at her son's arm as to prevent herself from falling. Iroh's smooth expression instantly became one of fear and horror. He couldn't deliver a baby! Especially not from his own mother! He would never overcome the trauma.

Thanking the spirits for his uncommonly strong build and size, Iroh swept up his mother into his arms and went as quickly as he could into the palace, calling out for anyone who was available, anyone at all, to help him.

The labor was a long one, a horrifying one, as many of the nurses and healers said. A breech birth, with the cord wrapped around the baby's neck somehow. Terrible amounts of blood.

Amazing that one of them survived.

Iyla had always been fragile and narrow, and could not bear it. The attending servants watched the Fire Lady pass away with a shuddering sigh just as they freed the child, a child so white and pale they feared that it, too, was dead. Not crying, not even opening its eyes as the maid held the baby boy.

Until, just as Iyla drew her last breath, the babe took his first one.

Iroh remembered coming in to see his brother, soul deeply steeped in mourning, but wishing to look upon Ozai's face all the same, lying amidst the red blankets. The Fire Prince, Azulon's firstborn, had leaned over to touch the child, still very sickly looking, when the baby's eyes had snapped open, filled with a shocking amount of awareness.

And Iroh hated it, was shocked at it, when he shuddered, looking into the infant's eyes.

Ozai's dark, solid black eyes, which carried no hint of gold, amber or mercy.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ozai had always trained in the morning, whether by himself or with several masters to contest. Today, he had chosen to be alone. Alone to think, mostly.

News of Azula's success at Ba Sing Se had been a thrill, his worthwhile child. So unlike her wretch of a brother, who had come creeping in to join the winning side. Typical of Zuko, unable to make a firm decision in where his loyalty lay...how could he have sired such a weakling, in comparison to Azula?

Ozai now stood and shifted his feet, breathing and pulling from the great reservoir of power within him. Unaware that his daughter had recently done the same thing, he began to make the fire dance around him, as much under his control as was the rest of this earth on which he now stood. He was in _complete control_.

Well, not completely.

The Avatar, it was still a thorn in his side. He had sent Zuko on a wild chase as an excuse to banish him from his presence and wander the earth forever. For if Ozai could not find the Avatar, then how could Zuko possibly? That was why it had shocked him so.

Zuko had wrote last, informing his father that he was going to the South Pole, to search among the Water Tribe peasants. Suppose that the airbender had died and had been reborn into the next Nation in the cycle? Ozai had laughed: it was almost pitiable, the hope his son's letter reflected. Until, a short while later, another message had arrived, the rumors flying about had been true, and Ozai had been left in wonder. And how it coincided perfectly with the coming of the hundred year mark, just as his father and grandfather had warned him.

But as Ozai spun the flames faster, feeling the rage of lightning running through his body, he was not bothered.

He would not make the mistake of assuming invincibility, which was always the downfall of the great ones he had read of. He would send out troops to crush the rebellion in Geming, to enforce the Fire Nation rule in the great city of Ba Sing Se, and to fend off the Water Tribe ships that had been harassing their shores.

Then, he would be able to continue with his plan, bring it all into a perfect cycle just as ancestor Sozin had desired.

He cast one last thought back upon Zuko, who had looked much more like Ursa than himself anyways. But not with that scar: she no longer could haunt Ozai from behind Zuko's eyes, in the shape of his smile, in his forgiving nature.

Worthless woman, worthless boy.

Both cast aside and forgotten.

At least Zuko would give him no more trouble, Ozai thought with a rare grin.

He turned with the blaze, the most powerful firebender in the world, no longer harnessing his energy as the wall of flame burst upwards to scorch the edges of the sky, Ozai forming it into a roaring tower before he swept it away. Power. It was priceless.

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**A/N: Short chapter. Boy, this one was dark. Sheesh. Well, I'll try to lighten it up in the next chapter. Get in a little of Hakoda, a little Jin and Jet, and of course a little bit with the GAang. See you then, and thank you so much for all of your reviews. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21, here we go. Thank you all again for your reviews, and I'll just have to keep moving forward. Updates are fuuuunnnn. And in the meantime, I need to do my homework. Anybody know anything about stocks and bonds? Early 20th century American history? The deeper meaning behind Herman Melville's later works? (sobs). I don't own Avatar, by the way.**

Chapter 21 

Ty Lee had not slept very well that night, as she rubbed the heels of her hands in her eyes walking down the hall way. Or the past few nights, for that matter. She couldn't explain it, really, she couldn't. It was just something out of balance in her aura. Although it had been significantly less "pink" ever since she had joined up with Azula again, so it was kinda hard to tell.

But there was some sort of bad feeling in her memory, and her mind could not stop returning to the Kyoshi warriors. It hadn't been surprising, coming from Azula, to get rid of your enemies as quickly as possible. They had gotten what they needed, and that was the purpose of the Kyoshi warriors: purpose served, what else to do with them?

Ty Lee had known that Azula could be a cold person. Playing with (and burning) numerous dolls and small animals as children had shown Ty Lee enough of that... and yet even this knowledge hadn't prepared her for when Azula dispatched them all.

Just like that. Poof, gone.

And the warriors had just been girls of their age, trying to help the Avatar. Why was it that Azula wanted that little guy and his fluffy flying monster so badly anyway? Ty Lee never bothered to ask a whole slew of questions: she went along with things as was her duty.

She had never even thought that the whole "power conquest" thing was a big deal. Hunting the Avatar, drilling through the wall in Ba Sing Se, stuff like that. The war was just something people talked about, complained about, conspired around. The war was "there", and Ty Lee's world was "here." Their chase had just been a fun sort of game. The worlds were separate.

But those young girls. Could have been her in their place, the acrobat supposed. A big unnecessary execution.

She had been given a look at the ones war claims, behind the armor and the paint and the weapons.

War. Ty Lee did not like it one bit.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Jin? Jin, why did you come back here? I specifically told you…"

"It's okay. The guard let me come down here by myself this time, said I wasn't going to do anything anyway."

"Bribes steepened?"

"Yes," she muttered, reaching into her bag while thrusting her torch into the cell. It illuminated the faces that had been stuck in her head for the past few days, and she despaired over how drawn and tired they all appeared to be.

The little girl called Smellerbee was sitting next to a pale boy, with dark eyes and a heavy brow, whom Smellerbee called Longshot: he didn't speak. Or at least, Jin hadn't heard him speak. She wondered if he could at all: he seemed to have mastered silent communication with his friends.

There was Tao, leaning forward as she brought him little mundane stories of what was happening out in the streets: they weren't usually very happy ones, but the man was glad to know anyway. And there was the occasional account of something Qiu had done, just to probe a slight laugh out of him… followed by a few tears. Jin was beginning to wonder if she would be able to find Huian at all. Maybe she was….no, try not to think about that.

And then there was him, chained to the wall because he could not be let loose. When the occasional guard walked by, he would pull at his bonds like an animal.

A very tall boy, Jin had to assume, with a shaggy haircut and a well defined face. Harsh curve to his eyes, though. Some small fire eating away at him. And cheekbones that looked unnaturally hollow, even in the strange lighting. He always made a great clattering when he moved, sometimes grunting in pain as he slumped in the shackles. Jet, his name was.

"He got hurt when we were captured," Smellerbee had said simply on the first day she had met them. "Earthbender."

"What's wrong with him?" Jin had whispered to Smellerbee, but Jet had overheard.

"Nothing I can't handle, that's what. Smellerbee, tell your friend to listen to Tao and stay as far away as possible from these scum in the palace."

Jin swallowed now, meeting his eyes as best she could in the darkness. She dug into her bag and found a small package of food tucked away there, and her heart sank when faces in the other cells looked at it longingly.

"Here," she said, pushing it under the iron door, "for you guys. Make sure he eats some."

"Can do," Smellerbee grinned, opening it and beginning to distribute the bread that was in it.

But Jet pushed the hot roll away with his one free hand, refusing to even look at it.

"Jin," he said slowly, "give my share to the guy, second cell down on the right. He spat in a guard's face and they've been starving him until he 'behaves'".

Jin tried not to gasp. How could humans be so cruel to each other, anyway?

"No, you should have it. I can give him something else". She might have had some fruit in her bag to give the man. She would have to hurry up, or else the Dai Li would get suspicious. But before she left, she turned and asked Jet:

"What kind of locks are these?"

Jet considered, raising an eyebrow at the question before he answered.

"I'm pretty sure that the chains and the door are twirl locks. Why?"

"Curiosity," Jin replied grimly.

She was quiet for a second, and then she said, "That's very expensive bread, by the way. Eat it slowly and enjoy it."

Jet listened to her soft footsteps go, and grudgingly turned to his bread, trying to be dignified and not devour it in two bites. The unmistakable glint in her eyes, it made Jet wonder idly if she was Freedom Fighter material as she walked away.

No, he was doubtful.

But when his teeth struck something thin, cold and metallic in the softness of the bread roll, he had to grin….

Maybe she was after all.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hakoda had taken a while to become accustomed to traveling on a ship like this one, a while to figure out who and what went where. Really, if it hadn't been for Kuei, things would have been much harder for them. The Earth King seemed to be enjoying himself, but….

"That bear is getting on my last nerve," Bato mentioned to him while they were shoveling the coal that kept the ship running. Hakoda wiped his brow. Bosco, that was its name. Temperamental creature, that seemed to enjoy gnawing on the rawhide boots that all of the men wore.

Well, particularly, Bato's.

Not to mention its utter adoration of sea prunes, having eaten Bato's share when he had gone out on deck to check their course.

Or the large amounts of refuse that showed up near Bato's cabin.

"He does those things because he likes you," Hakoda commented distractedly, hefting another shovel full into the fires. Bato sighed heavily.

"I never thought I would dislike being liked so very much." He rolled his blue eyes, and turned his attention to Hakoda.

"You look a bit tired, by the way."

"Hmm. Well, we seem to be on course for the Northern Shores. That's where most of the Fire Navy is now anyway. And, we'll be able to meet with Katara and Sokka again."

Bato nodded, and looked down at his shovel for a moment. "Hakoda, I can understand your worries. If they were my children, I would…."

"No, they're strong and capable. I know that they'll take care of each other," he responded, voicing what he had been trying to tell himself constantly. Besides, it hadn't been that, most recently.

He had had a dream several nights ago, one he had occasionally that always bothered him for the days afterwards. The one that took him back to the night that Kaya died. And it always started and ended the same as well, the same haunting memory repeating over and over again. What Hakoda did not know was that his daughter had had the same dream.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When he first heard the cries of the watch guard, posted there because of rumors, Hakoda had almost not believed it. No, these were the things that happened to other tribes, to other people. What could the Fire Nation possibly want here in the South Pole, of all places?

But the warning cries had come, beneath screams and shouts as the men snatched up their weapons and hurried out into the night, "Fire Nation! Fire Nation!"

And, like hulking black monsters in the moonlight, the iron ships had indeed been there on the horizon, and it wasn't long before the hail of fire began to fall, as the firebenders stormed their shores and charged over the snow.

"Mom, I'm scared!" Katara had cried, as their mother had snatched them both and hidden them under the bed, with a frantic look on her face. Sokka had been fighting tooth and nail with her, trying to run for the door.

"Lemme go! I gotta help Dad!"

"Sokka!" his mother had screamed at him, shaking him forcefully by the shoulders, "I need you to stay and protect Katara! Please, do this for me!"

And she too had run out into the night, into the chaos, after her husband.

"Sokka, what are you doing?" Katara had hissed, climbing out from her hiding spot.

"Going to fight," he grumbled in reply, awkwardly hefting up their father's large fishing spear. "I'm a man too."

"No you're **not**! Do what Mom says and stay here!"

A wail was suddenly set up from outside, a pair of footsteps fast approaching, when….

A monster burst in, a towering demon in blood red armor with a pale ghost's face and burning eyes to match the flame he had in his hands. The blaze jumped as he strode forward and knocked things over, tearing, ripping, stealing all that they had.

"Found some weapons," he cried hoarsely in a voice that made the two siblings cringe, a nine year old and a seven year old with wide blue eyes. He noticed them for the first time and shot the horrible hungry fire at them, lighting the rugs and furs ablaze.

"Come on, Katara!" Sokka had cried, snatching his paralyzed sister away from the deadly path and out into the village.

It was a raid: the soldiers were not concerned with prisoners, and the blood on the snow was testimony to that.

"Mom! Mom!" Katara had begun to scream, adding her voice to the multitudes of others. The two had continued to run, led by the fires that were burning everywhere, nearly trampled underfoot.

And then….

"Sokka! Katara!"

Both Water Tribe children had frozen, for a moment fearful to approach the blood stained woman who had propped herself up in the stark white snow, but they had overcome it and run into her arms, crying. The war raged around them still, and Kaya had pushed both children away from her. Her eyes were tearing now, and her clear voice was reduced to a stutter as she fought with death long enough to say what she needed to.

"Sokka…" she took a breath for air, and Sokka had tried to stop crying enough to hear her. " Sokka, I need you to promise me that you'll protect your sister. Please, you two are so strong when you're together…"

"Mom, stop it! Why're saying that?!" There was nothing he could do. He was powerless, and he was a coward, he kept telling himself. He should have been fighting. Mom's distant gaze turned to Katara.

"Katara. Please, my baby, I need you to listen, and listen carefully, alright?"

Dumbstruck and with bloody gloves, Katara had nodded.

"Take care of your father and brother, look out for others. Both of you, I need you to…" she almost faded, but her grip on them both tightened, and she took another breath. She coughed and her mouth went red.

"…I need you to never give up."

"Mom! Please don't go! _Please_ come back, don't leave us…"

"Don't be scared, loves," Kaya had whispered as she finally surrendered, unable to fight anymore. With one last motion, she reached for her throat and tore away the pendant that sat there, placing it in her daughter's hand. "I'm always with you."

And the dream always ended there, with Hakoda running up to the body to find his children pressed against it, amid the fire and the destruction and shambles of lives.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

They were never going to get anywhere if they kept stopping, that was for sure. But no, once again, the large fluffy thing that the Avatar affectionately called Appa was dropping down below the tree line in the afternoon light, eyelids sinking faster than the sun was. Zuko figured he preferred the sluggish bison over the flying lemur, which had somehow developed a liking for his head as its roost.

"We should try some firebending again," Aang sighed reluctantly, knowing he needed to learn this but still dreading the struggle. Iroh patted him encouragingly on the back, and Zuko rolled his eyes. So one thing didn't come easily for the airbender, who luck seemed to consider a pet of some kind. So one little thing was a struggle.

But there were Aang and Iroh once more, Iroh stepping back to try and figure out a new approach to it.

"Aang, how was it that you started airbending? What did you use to learn it in the beginning?"

Aang wondered if finding a new way around his obstacle was the best way to do this. Maybe he should stick to the earthbending way of thought: that there was only one way to do achieve something, and the only remedy was persistence. Although, it seemed like a good question.

"There was a monk who taught me at the Southern Air Temple, I practiced airbending with him."

"Ah, so what did he do?"

"Well," and Aang allowed he to reminisce, with Toph and Zuko both having one ear in the conversation as they went about their own business. "There was this really big and funny looking statue of a monkey in the temple. I always thought it was ugly, and would make faces at it."

Iroh smiled.

"So one day the monk says to me that he'll make me a deal. He'll throw the statue at me, and if I can use airbending to lift it back onto the pedestal enough times, I can take the statue and do whatever I want with it."

"A rewards system, so it would seem. Setting up a consequence."

"Kind of. I would see the statue flying to the floor, and something in me just screamed 'Catch it!!' and the air decided to help me out. All of a sudden, just like that."

"Oh, interesting." There was a pause as Iroh fingered his beard. "Out of curiosity, what did you end up doing with the monkey?"

"I snuck it into Monk Gana's room and put it in his bed dressed in his robes. He got a real surprise, and the monk who taught me always said that the monkey was a spitting image of Gana anyway."

Iroh's smile widened." I think I would have liked your friend. What was his name?"

"Monk Gyatso. He was the greatest airbender ever." Aang's face was sad for a moment; Toph felt his vibrations dip low, before they returned to normal.

But no one noticed Zuko's reaction, the shock that could barely stay hidden on his face.

Gyatso the airbender.

And Zuko was a child again, sitting before Ozai in awe of the tale, the tale of the terrible duel between ancestor Sozin and one of the very few benders to ever hold his own against him. Who had fought on after everyone else had fallen, resisted until death took him, never giving up without a fight. The Avatar, he had been taught by the warrior that had so interested Zuko as a boy.

And for the first time, as he watched Uncle shoot a streamer of fire out at Aang, to create an "urgent" situation and possibly provoke his firebending, Zuko wondered.

What was it like, being the last of your kind? To wake up and find that everything you knew and had was gone?

Zuko thought that perhaps he _did _know the feeling, remembering waking up on his bed with the smell of burnt flesh still in his memory, bandages covering half his face as he boarded the ship to begin the futile chase for his honor. Everything was gone, he was alone, no longer a noble son of fire. Just Zuko. He wondered how the Avatar had felt in comparison, and frowned.

Alright, so maybe the boy wasn't under quite the shield of fortune that Zuko thought him to be. Maybe, just maybe, the boy had had his share of struggling and fighting to contend with.

Hmph.

He rose from his seat, and walked slowly over to where the two were standing.

Katara looked on with the faintest trace of a smile on her face.

Sokka and Suki exchanged bewildered glances.

Toph pressed her foot harder to the ground. What was up with Hothead's vibrations? They were, well, _straightening._ They were suddenly less "all over the place," for some reason.

Zuko came to stand beside his uncle.

"Avatar," he said flatly, "you can't see the fire as separate from yourself, because it's not. You have to look on it as a part of you that you need to control: you're not disciplining fire, you're disciplining yourself."

Aang was busy looking at his new teacher, agape, and only half-heard what was being said. Zuko remembered the boy's story about accidentally burning the water girl.

"Don't be afraid of the fire, as much as you need to struggle and fight with it. I'm sure you've had to do things that you were afraid to in the past."

Iroh was beaming, and Aang positioned himself lower to the earth as Zuko was doing. The exiled prince and former enemy continued.

"Think of it this way: if you master it, you no longer need to fear it. By putting it under your control, you're preventing it from hurting someone else."

Aang winced inwardly, but wondered. Iroh stepped in.

"There, you see? Slightly different approach that might work. Now, Avatar, are you going to try it again?"

Aang looked towards Zuko, who wore an impassive expression. Over to Toph, who managed to give a thumbs-up in his direction. She was grinning, and she could feel his vibrations, his energy, begin to organize itself. _Now or never, Twinkletoes._

Katara leaned forward, hands clasped together as she watched Aang close his eyes once more, and draw a clearing breath.

Aang let everything settle. Iroh had said that firebending drew strength from emotions much of the time: as far as Aang had seen, rage was a big one. But that was no good. Fear was no good either, and he planned on conquering it. After all, he needed to think beyond himself and his fears. He would have to master firebending to save the world that had been entrusted to him. If he paid attention, nothing like what happened to Katara would ever happen again. Ever.

And he took another breath, bellows to a blacksmith's fire which scattered sparks throughout his mind. There it was, the golden pool of chi in his center, his fire chakra. The chakra of willpower. His will to discipline his fears, discipline his fire, and do what he knew needed to be done.

He dipped into the golden pool of power, forcing the rest back down that wanted to come up with it. It wasn't as hard as last time: the excess sank back into place, without even a command from the Avatar to initiate it. Aang held that gold within him, and thought of a good emotion to fuel it forwards.

Pride? No, that was what had gotten him in trouble the first time.

Happiness? Aang wasn't sure, still. The lighthearted nature of joy and the discipline of firebending just didn't mix.

Well, how about Love?

Aang nearly shrank from that, but remembered to keep his fears in check. The golden energy stayed where it was. No, not love. It made him think of Katara, letting her go, being lonely….._afraid, without vibrations, lost, cold_.

Like Toph had said, actually….what about Toph? And the Avatar recalled Pahtik saying that there were many kinds of love. He may have believed that he loved Katara, but he loved his friends as well. In a different way_. Do this to protect your friends._

Think about Toph.

Think about making her never have to feel alone again.

Think about the way she calls you Twinkletoes and how she always slaps you on the back when you learn a new earthbending move. Think, in short, about the friendship: there's a love that you'll never have to let go.

Aang found it, opened his eyes, and let the feeling soar the energy forward, through his body in a flawless path, dancing and laughing and under his complete control all the way, doing his will…..

And a long jet of bright golden blaze flew from Aang's hands. It was a long, hot fire like a dragon's breath, igniting the air for only a few triumphant seconds before it vanished. But Aang may as well have sprouted wings, for the commotion it caused.

"**There**? You see! Good things come to those who wait! You're a firebender, my boy," Iroh laughed, inspecting the scorched earth.

"Aang, you _did it_!" Katara laughed, rushing over and hugging him tightly. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Great, just what we need: another firebender." But Sokka was smiling from ear to ear.

"Hey, Twinkletoes," Toph said, walking over, "I told you that it was okay sometimes. Nice work….although I wouldn't get cocky just yet."

Even Zuko had to let the ghost of a smile pass across his face. He had almost forgotten what success felt like, and for some reason his spirit was reveling in it now.

Although Zuko didn't realiza it, it was the satisfaction of a teacher, when their student suddenly finds his way.

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**A/N; Okay, that's all for this chapter, folks. This one was all over the place: I hope Ty Lee was in character. I wanted to have her reconsidering things, having something going on under that bubbly and light exterior. **

**The thing with the Fire Nation raid, I wanted to put it in now so I can refer back to it later. Made me kinda sad writing it. **

**Thank you for reading! I've passed 15,000 hits! Who-hoo. Have a good day, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Remember, I love feedback. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey everybody! Here comes number 22. I'm shooting for about 30/35 chapters, by the way. So this fic is progressing. Avatar is not mine: all property rights belong to Nickelodeon. I wonder, do the creators ever read through Maybe that's where they get some of their ideas….enjoy the chapter.**

Chapter 22

The two boys were absolutely overcome in fits of poorly stifled laughter, ducking behind the stone pillars of the temple to hide from the "enemy."

"Aang, quit stepping on my feet! And stop that silly shirt from flapping all over the place, or Bumi and Katoh are gonna find us!" the dark haired boy with a gangly body and amber eyes said.

"Sorry, Kuzon," Aang laughed, looking around the corner for their opponents.

Maybe they could sneak around to the main hall and ambush them, he wasn't sure. Where were the best hiding spots? Bumi was probably about a billion steps ahead of the game anyway, with his crazy brain and Katoh's wild traps….he and Kuzon didn't stand a chance.

"I think I hear them," his Fire Nation friend whispered into his ear. "Get ready to…"

"YAAAHHHH!!!" a war cry ripped through the air, and both young boys were smacked from behind as pillars of earth punched out of the ground. A second later, a sleek stream of water splashed them both as they tried to sit back up.

"Full scale invasion!" shouted a short blue-eyed boy in furs. His friend, another boy with wild hair and eyes, snorted.

Aang gave them a once-over, dripping wet, and pretended to sneeze, throwing both of his friends back on a gust of air.

"This isn't fair," Kuzon grumbled as he shook his hair out. "You guys are all better benders than me. Especially you, mister _master airbender_."

Aang shrugged, a huge grin plastered onto his face. So he was'nt a master just yet, but he was well on his way.

"All's fair that ends well," Bumi said loftily, to which Katoh gave a strange look. The waterbender turned to Kuzon, who had always struggled with his firebending for some reason.

"Aw, don't worry," Katoh said, pulling the water out of Aang and Kuzon's clothes and back into his pouch. "Imagine the guys who can't bend at all."

"Yeah, that must be boring…."

Kuzon sighed, which sent a few hot sparks out the side of his mouth. Aang looked at his friends, wondering how much trouble they were going to get in for running off and playing instead of practicing. Oh well, Gyatso would understand.

"Let's play again. I'll bet we can ambush you first," Kuzon challenged suddenly, making a small burst of fire appear between his hands. Typical nine year old fun among children of the Four Nations, four perfectly harmonized and balanced nations.

"Same teams?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

And off ran Katoh and Bumi, a future chief and king for their peoples.

Kuzon, who would indeed, one day , become an excellent bender when he was a general in the Fire Nation army, turned to his friend.

"Let's go, airbender!"

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Sokka had volunteered to go into the trading post, rather disappointed for the logic behind it.

"This place is packed with bounty hunters," Katara had whispered, hiding her face as they walked down the street of the town. A crossroad for low-lifes, really, but they needed to know if they were on the proper course for the port city. As much as Sokka had insisted that no, no, he was steering them in the right direction, it was too big a risk not to ask.

So, they stood a ways off and debated.

"Sokka, I think you should go in," Toph had said.

"Me, why?"

"As far as I know, Meathead, everybody else in this group has some kind of bounty on their skins. So you'll get to walk in and leave without a problem."

Sokka's shoulders sagged slightly, and he couldn't help but pout. Oh, so he wasn't important enough for a bounty? He wasn't a threat to the pompous and powerful Fire Nation? Hmpf. Suki patted him on the back, smiling.

"You know, that's supposed to be a **good** thing, Sokka."

"I know, I know," he grumbled. "Fine, I'm going. See? Poor unimportant Sokka is going now, oh mighty benders." He gave them a mocking bow and stalked off through the crowd, with Suki following close behind. She gave one last small wave to the group, who all sat in an alley to wait. These little excursions were just _so_ much fun.

Several streets later, Sokka came to the trading post he had spotted before, a relatively large place filled with assortments of goods from all over the Earth Kingdom. Spices, clothing, pottery, weapons, boring stuff like that. All bearing the Fire Nation seal, to Sokka's disgust. He approached cautiously, stepping around a group of huge beasts that were tied up out front, and entered. They looked like rhinos of some kind, wearing plates of armor on their naturally armored bodies: one gave a monsotrous snort at him and pawed the earth. He stepped in out of the sunlight, scrunchin hid nose at the pungent animal smell.

There was a place where someone was slicing up rough meals to be served, some men gambling in the corner, typical center for town activity. A town full of vagabonds, of course. "Filthy peasants", as Zuko branded them all. Sokka smirked at the thought: Zuko didn't look too clean or wealthy himself nowadays. But it was true; the place was filled with unsavory types.

Not wanting to walk too far into the den of vipers, Sokka cautiously approached a man who was chatting with a huge fellow near the door, a strange guy with a loud haircut, earrings, and some sort of blades strapped to his wrists. He seemed to be with the other four who stood nearby, but Sokka wasn't sure. He stood near the counter, Suki across from him, and tossed a fruit idly from hand to hand, waiting his turn.

"Umm, excuse me, sir?"

The shorter man turned from his conversation to glare at him, unspeaking.

"Yeah, uh, I was wondering how to get to Katsu from here."

"Katsu? It's about a week's travel northwest of here, heading out over the Han Mountains. Why, what's your business there?"

"Visiting some relatives," Sokka shrugged, realizing that there had been no mountains marked on that stupid map. Mountains? Great.

That was when he also realized that the guy with the earring was squinting at him, as though quickly going through his memory like he was browsing a shelf of scrolls. Unfortunately, as Sokka took a step back, the man found the right one and his beady eyes opened wide.

"Hey!" he snarled, "You're that Water Tribe boy from the wanted poster!"

If there is a sure way to kill off any other conversation and activity amongst thieves and bounty hunters (as Zuko and Iroh had realized out in the desert), it is to proclaim that the head of the person who just stepped in the door is worth a small fortune. But Sokka didn't seem to notice. In fact, his expression was almost dewy.

"Really? Me? _I have my own wanted poster_?" He grinned, not noticing Suki pulling on his arm. "How much am I worth? Is it as much as Aang or Zuko?"

"Sokka!" Suki shouted as the men all rose from their seats.

"Oh, right."

Sokka reached back and chucked his boomerang in a wild path through the shop, breaking pots and knocking over shelves on its way. It cleaved through the ropes that were suspending the hanging lanterns in the dark room, dropping hot oil and flame everywhere.

In the split second that the beady eyed man looked after the boomerang, Sokka seized his opportunity and delivered a sharp uppercut to the man's chin.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

One of the guy's friends, a giant with a dark beard and stony shoulders, pulled a long spear from his side and came at Sokka on the right, only to have the spear's blade bury itself in a heavy wooden shield, held firmly in his path by the short-haired girl who had snatched it up from the crates.

"Time to go!" Sokka said cheerfully, snatching his faithful boomerang from the floor. "Thanks for all the help!"

Suki pushed the man with the spear away, hurling the shield at the one Sokka had knocked down and rushing out into the streets, upsetting a huge flock of sheep-chickens that had been roosting there.

"After them!" came a chorus from inside. The roar of an angry mob as the fire from the lanterns began to make things unpleasant in there.

A second or so followed, and then a flaming arrow buried itself next to Sokka's foot as the five warriors, definitely some sort of traveling company, burst out as well, mounting the enormous beasts that Sokka had noted before. He struck away another arrow that flew at him, running backwards while doing so.

Something blew up, sending fragments of wood and barrels into the air.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Toph's head cocked to one side as she heard the commotion, the stomping of heavy feet, the shouts……and then the explosion, which everyone heard.

"That sounded just the way I expected it to," Katara grumbled, and all of them ran off.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Bombs?" Sokka shouted as he dodged the path of one of the rhino's tails. One of the rhino guys had bombs?

Suki couldn't answer, as two men armed with sparring knives came at her, probably intent on just killing her. Still no comabt fans! It was very frustrating, she had to say. Oh well.

There was a decisive SNAP as she kicked the shorter man's head aside, plowing her boot into her second attacker's stomach and shoving him backwards. Another roundhouse knocked the knife out of his loose grip, which she slid through the dirt and snatched up, running to Sokka's side.

"Sokka, we have to move towards…."

"Hold on," he grunted, standing his ground and letting one of the rhinos advance on him in a storm of dust, horn down and forward to run him through. The warrior looked rooted there to the trmbling earth, either incredibly courageous or blindingly foolish, depending on the spectator's view.

"What are you -OOF!" Suki exclaimed as Sokka shoved her roughly aside and out of harm's way. _I'll show them who's a threat…._

He ducked down low to avoid the warrior's swinging mace and chain as it grazed the air above his head, drew something from his boot, and dove. The dive turned into a roll as he went under the armored animal that tried to crush him, hamstringing it with four clean slices from his small blade. He tried to scramble out as the beast bellowed in pain, bucked its rider free and fell, but wasn't quite fast enough.

Knocking the air out of him, the rhino's long, heavy tail crashed down. Stuck. Curses, this creature was heavy….

By now the man whose rhino Sokka had just rendered useless had stormed over, a beast himself with a huge stature, the heavy iron on the end of the chain whirling about in a blur and flashing in the fire light. Sokka clenched his eyes shut, trying to push this thing off of him…..

_Sokka, protect your sister…._

When a truly beautiful sound sang through the air.

It was the comfortingly familiar sound of a water whip shooting out, lashing thrice around the man's neck, and yanking him backwards. Followed by the also lovely sound of a rock bashing the guy on the head.

"Sokka! Are you okay?" he watched his baby sister's feet rush forward to him, kneeling down.

"Fine! Fine!" he said breathlessly. "Justgetthisthingoffme!!!!"

Katara nodded, and Toph stepped in immediately. Couldn't let Meathead get smooshed, now could she? The blind earthbender had bashed her way through the chaotic scene, and made the entire section of earth Sokka was trapped against spin like a turnstile, shifting him out from under the tail. All three collected and threw themselves back into the free- for- all, as everyone present in the streets realized the mountain of bounty gold that had just stepped into their midst.

"Colonel Munkeh! So good to see you again," Iroh greeted pleasantly, knocking away the short blasts of fire his former friend was sending him. It was impressive, really, to watch how quickly the Dragon of the West's hands moved, intelligent animals all their own.

"Really, old man, do you expect me to…"

He didn't get any farther, as Zuko had sprung up from the rhino's left side and kicked the warrior from his saddle, sliding clean over the animal and back down to earth, with both swords locked on Munkeh's throat.

The Colonel who led the Rough Rhinos grappled with the twin blades, digging the weapons on his arms against the steel before he flipped himself upright. Zuko was tossed overhead, landing hard in the dust and spitting out a small amount of blood.

He cast a look at the melee; all seven of the travelers matched against a street full of greedy nothings, before locking with the man once more. A blaze, probably originating from the trading post, was quickly eating up all the buildings, and he turned back to Munkeh. Zuko encountered a quick flare of fire, a trench of it scorching thorough the earth towards him…

_Defense into offense, turning weapons against your enemies,_ as the water girl had instructed…and instead of beating it back or pushing it aside, Zuko let the rapids of his energy follow the flow, moving with the attack as he brought it around in a flaming wave and into its originator's face.

The Colonel stepped back and put his hands out defensively, an opening that Zuko seized, the clash of metal resounding in his ears.

Aang, meanwhile, leapt over another one of the rhinos and its Fire Nation handler, one who armed himself with a bow and arrow that had already put a hole through Aang's outer shirt. A little too close for comfort, if you asked him.

The Avatar landed on the other side, now fully in front of the rhino's horn, a kick of wind shattering one of the arrows. What to do, what to do...ah hah.

"Katara!"

"Yeah!"

"Gimme some of your water!" he cried as he stepped backwards, batting away burning shafts left and right and avoiding the rhino's advance.

Without a question from the waterbender, the silver arc curved through the air and into Aang's grasp. He snatched it and pushed it out, a long whip that sliced the saddle free of the straps, and another smack to the rhino's face that made it rear up and loose its rider.

The rhino continued to charge him on its own will: Aang bent low, and with a grunt of effort and some give in his knees, heaved the corpulent opponent over him, carried on a huge burst of wind, landing it right through the roof of the trading post after being airborne. "Sorry!" he shouted, tossing the water back into Katara's waiting hands.

She and Toph were pressed back to back against the onslaughts, holding their own just fine, thank you very much. Toph slid her right foot forward, sending a tall slice of earth flying out and knocking a good dozen or so away.

"Where are all these guys coming from?" Katara wondered out loud, dancing with the whip in tight, focused movements.

"Oh, from under the same rock that the rest do," Toph shouted back sarcastically, booting another thief into the air on a blunt spear of stone.

"Ack!"

Katara glanced to their far left, snatched Toph and ran as a line of throwing stars embedded themselves in the wall they were next to, rhythmic and consecutive _thunks _chasing them on their tails. The waterbender whirled around and shot back ice blades in return.

Aang had worked his way over to Zuko by now, who was still in a contest with Munkeh, steel grating against steel as both firebenders fought. His younger fire teacher noticed him. This was accomplising nothing.

"Let's go, airbender!"

The words found something in Aang, somewhere, long hidden and forgotten, "_Let's go, airbender…."_

And reunited with his Fire Nation friend from so long ago, at least in Aang's own view, he drove a current through the earth that blindsided the warrior, giving Zuko a clear path.

"Katara! Sokka! Let's get out of here!" Aang managed to shout.

By now, the village was a wreck, with highwaymen and vagabonds slumped over and knocked out, three rhinos free and stampeding, a roof crashed in and half of the buildings ablaze. _Weird stuff always happened to us, I knew it,_ Sokka reflected as they rushed clear of the scene of devastation.

"Sorry about the damage," Sokka roared over his shoulder, dodging an arrow. He pointed to Zuko. "He's royalty, he'll pay for it!"

Zuko noted a collection of their fugitive posters as he left, tacked up to a wall neatly alongside several others and beginning to curl from the scattered flames.

He recalled a time when it had said he was wanted "Dead or Alive."

Now, just "Dead" would suffice.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

A lock pick.

Jet had to admit that that was an interesting one. Had he looked at the girl beforehand, at her dark green eyes that seemed like they could hide nothing, he would have never thought she'd had it in her to pull something like this.

And wrapped around the lock pick, one excellent for twirl locks in particular, was a small scrap of parchment with an address scratched onto it. Then, all Jet had to do was wait for the opportune time.

That was the hardest part, really, sitting in the dark and listening to the metal creak, the occasional footsteps walk by, a word or two from Smellerbee. The agonizing anticipation was what nearly broke him, not the imprisonment or his injuries or any trace of defeat. It was having to command himself to wait, when every fiber of his spirit told him to act now.

No, Jin had risked quite a lot aiding him, and he was going to honor that.

_Do you know what they do to people who help prisoners escape, Jet?_ A little voice had whispered in his ear, when he had first pulled the pick out of the bread. By all appearances, she had baked it in there. Risky.

So he had waited, one, two, three days. She hadn't come back, and that was a comfort to him. And then, on the third day, his chance struck.

He heard the Dai Li agent walking down the hall, carrying their food at same time as always. It was one of the things that he set his days and nights by. He knew the pattern of the footsteps, had them all memorized by now. Could tell the guards apart in his sleep. So Jet knew that this was the one who would always stop a moment to taunt them as he bent down to slide the rations under the door, usually about forty seconds of torment before the man got bored and moved to the next cell.

He may have worn Earth Kingdom robes, but Jet knew the man was Fire Nation to the core.

"Ah, good afternoon, scum," he smirked.

Jet gave one last minute turn of the pick, freeing his arm but keeping it in the shackle.

"We had a **wonderful** spree of executions and relocations today: driving everyone out of the Upper Ring to clear the way for when Princess Azula's army gets here. She's quite a dictator, just the spine this crumbling city needed."

Jet watched the man's head bend down and sprang, plunging the lock into the door as he heard then small slat open on the bottom. He moved his feet as the man droned on about the "less fortunate departed."

_Click_. Music to his ears.

The Dai Li agent stood up and looked Jet in the eye as he threw open the iron door.

Jet grinned.

If Jet lived a thousand lifetimes, he would never again experience the perfectly shocked, horrified, and awestruck expression on the earthbender's face for that hairline fraction of a second, right before Jet smashed the man in the head with the door as it swung out, a short and sweet BANG.

Urging Tao and his friends out, Jet tossed the guy into the cell.

"Jet," Smellerbee whispered, "We'll never all make it out of here! You should go alone, we'll be okay!"

Jet rolled his eyes. "Now what are the chances of that happening, Bee?"

Strict policy. Freedom Fighters watched each other's backs, even if it meant a knife in their own.

Snatching the man's keys and the pair of knives he carried, Jet led the others down the hall, all thoughts of his still-healing injuries banished.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: And that concludes Chapter 22. I wanted to bring back the Rough Rhinos; I thought they would be interesting. Coincidentally, it was them that attacked Jet's village when he was eight (as I recall.) So, Chapter 23 will have more of Ozai in it, possibly Katara and Toph stuff, and a possible misadventure on Zuko and Sokka's part….actually, I have no idea what's coming. I'm just brainstorming…..**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23. I'll try to get a lot packed into this, so may as well get started. Thanks to everyone who is reading/reviewing. Feedback helps! I'll take pointers, scenes you may want to see play out, basically anything. So yeah, enjoy. Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. I think that after 23 chapters that's pretty clear, huh?**

Chapter 23

The hallways were, of course, cool and quiet, dark and built from stone that allowed their feet to breeze over it. The few torches they had encountered were snuffed out quickly.

Jet had known it would probably be the night shift: that guard always liked to let their food sit and get terribly cold before he brought it to them. After maneuvering through the vast halls, Jet spotted the glow of another torch from around the corner, and the group halted as they heard the murmur of voices.

Jet dared to let one eye edge out from behind the far corner.

"Alright," the Freedom Fighter whispered huskily, "there's six men on the door over there. Smellerbee, any guy that you want in particular?"

The girl smirked.

"Aw, just let me take the biggest one."

"Longshot?"

The quiet boy noted that one of the guards carried a bow and quiver of arrows, might just have been his to begin with that had been seized after they were captured under Lake Laogai.

Tao just focused his gaze upon the men, the men who probably had Huian and Jia somewhere. He didn't look in the friendliest of moods, Jet had to observe.

Jet sighed. "Okay then."

And all four of them sprang from the shadows, intent on disposing of these men as quickly as possible before they woke up the rest of the palace, four spirits springing from the dark.

Smellerbee had, when Jet first met her, shocked him. Absolutely shocked him by how quick on her feet she was, how agile: it smacked of a sparrow-cat, and he was reminded of this as the small girl sprang, knife out, leaping and dodging the earthbender's assaults like a twirling leaf on the wind.

A quick sideways swipe rewarded the man with a large wound running across his torso, and he fell to his knees: Smellerbee propelled herself upwards to the man next to him, the one carrying Longshot's bow, slicing the strap on the quiver free as it dropped.

"'Longshot! Catch!"

The bow and arrows flipped through the air and into the boy's hand, the curve of it comfortable and familiar as he immediately notched a shaft and let fly, followed by another just as accurate that made only the slightest sound, a quick little deadly sigh.

Jet had never had a liking for knife fighting: too small, too inefficient, to awkward. But he would have to make do, as the guard knocked him down with a chunk of earth. He twisted to avoid the rock cuffs that shot out at him, a left hook cracking the Dai Lee's jaw as he went forward with the momentum. The man pushed up from below where Jet had put him, and hurled the boy to the floor, which got a cry of pain from him as whatever that had been smashed inside before re-broke.

He heaved a ragged gasp and swept his leg around under his enemy's feet from his position, bringing the earthbender down with a crash as well, and Jet snatched the sword buckled to the guard's side, staggering to his feet.

A knife whistled thorough the air as the sixth fell by Tao's hand, but he did not stop to observe the man crumble when he jerked the blade free: he already had stridden over and had one iron hand wound around the throat of the man at Jet's feet. The knife, dripping warm blood, was pressed delicately under the Dai Li's nose.

"Where are my daughter and wife? The young woman with the pale green eyes and her mother?"

"I…."

"You'll tell me if you want to keep your face on," he growled. Jet stared: where the broken and beaten man from the dungeons had gone, he hadn't a clue. This Tao was certainly more unnerving, as he pressed the blade up farther. It made a small incision, and a fresh drop of red ran down the earthbender's ashen face.

"We…we sold them! Sent them to Katsu!"

"The port city? To do what?"

"Gaaah!" the man gurgled as Tao's vice-like grip tightened. "T-the coal mines! The coal mines!"

Coal for the Fire Ships: there was a huge reserve of it around the city, a vast mine which slaves were made to work for years on end, their lives becoming darkness and black soot, cave-ins and illness.

"Pah," Tao spat, leaping to his feet.

"Come on. We have things to take care of."

As the Dai Li lay on the ground, still shaking in fear after looking death in the eyes, he listened to the four prisoners run away. He would sound the alarm in a minute, but right now he was too thankful for being spared.

Mercy wasn't something one saw often these days.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

So they were headed out over the mountains, Suki reflected. Flying high over the landscape at night now, trying to travel when they were least likely to be spotted. Sokka had stayed up to keep Appa awake, while the rest of the company was fast asleep and spread out over the sky bison's back. Except for her.

And she was glad for it, really. Or else she would have missed the beautiful night that spread out for miles before them, the silence a beautiful and fragile glass over the terrain. The gray clouds would part for them like ocean waves occasionally, giving her looks down into the forests and dark rivers. If she really squinted, she could see the spine of the mountain range they were headed towards, a dusting of moonlight on the peaks.

The moon.

It was beautiful tonight, a perfectly serene silver crescent. Very lovely indeed.

And it had Sokka's full attention as he gazed up at it. Suki could have been mistaken, but she thought she may have seen longing in the warrior's eyes. Or was it sadness? She couldn't quite tell.

Debating what to do for some time, Suki decided she wasn't going to get back to sleep anyway, and sat up. Sokka didn't notice the Kyoshi girl until her hand came down upon his shoulder.

"Sokka?" It was the barest of whispers, almost lost to the wind, as she tried not to wake the others. Sokka looked back at her.

"Yeah?"

"Hi."

"Couldn't sleep, huh?" He slapped Appa's reins with a friendly nudge. "I wish the big guy shared your problem."

Suki smiled and drew in a breath.

Oh, why was this so hard? The words swam in her throat before they surfaced, unsure of what emotion to put behind them, delicately chosen. But she would have to speak now: she had wedged herself into a corner as Sokka looked patiently at her.

"Sokka, something's bothering you. I know, okay? I was wondering…." She recalled his words, once more, in the Serpent's Pass, which had kept her trudging onward after her encounter with the Fire Princess. _Someone he couldn't protect_…..

"…I was wondering what happened to you at the North Pole."

Sokka's heart skipped ever so slightly, and the largest range of emotions possible flew by behind his eyes. He had never really expected to be asked the question, never thought he would have to put what happened to Yue into words with anyone. He wasn't sure, now, if he would be able to.

How to tell such a story, of the woman he had so completely fallen in love with, to the girl whom he was fairly certain loved him?

As a Water Tribe warrior, it was his duty to try.

"Her name was Yue," Sokka began, taking a breath of his own.

And so he relived it, the memory that was always somewhere at the back of his mind.

How different she had been from every other girl he had ever encountered, something about her that just seemed right and enchanting. Maybe it had been her beauty that had drawn him in, her blue eyes with a hint more green than any other pair of Water Tribe eyes he had ever locked with. Her hair, the soft voice. Her laughter like a chorus of bells.

Something about her had lifted his spirits and made him want to make her happy: that was the thing about love, you couldn't explain it.

Yue had been perfect, really, to her death as the innocent sacrifice. In her selfless act that had spared them all, that quiet courage that lay behind her eyes had shown itself.

And all he could do was sit and watch it happen.

As he held her in his arms there in the Oasis, he had been rolled back in time to see his mother before him again, holding on for as long as she could. _I should have fought back, I'm a coward, please don't go, don't leave me…._ Another person he had loved and lost. Another one he had failed.

Sokka struggled as best as he could through the story, but feeling surprisingly better as the burden was lifted slightly and shared between the two warrior's hearts.

Suki did not speak throughout tale, the tale of the moon and the boy who loved her. And she was shocked to find the sorrow that often was overlooked behind his cocky and light-hearted exterior. He wasn't crying, certainly, his voice was not tremulous. But it was sorrowful, and that was pain enough.

She wondered how she should feel, because the way she did was so unexpected. She felt as though she _should_ have been upset with him, even in a pitying sense: she had kissed him, and he had fallen in love with another. Was she so easily forgotten? And now, as they both stared up at the moon, did he still love Yue?

But she didn't feel that. She felt a pain as though her own heart had been broken, a strange wish that _she_ could have died instead. Then, at least, Sokka would be with her, Yue, whom he had had to loose. To watch another die was terrible: Suki could still smell the fresh earth she had dug her friend's graves in, heavy hearted at her own failure…

And there were no words, really, to say.

So Suki disregarded them, and pulled him into an embrace, a comforting rather than an intimate one, tears making it hard to see him.

"Sokka, I'm sorry," she finally said. "And I want you to know that I will never ask you to lie."

To lie? Sokka looked down at her as she kept her grip, face unsure of what expression to assume. _To lie about loving her, she means. She thinks you don't really love her._

And Sokka thought. When he first laid eyes on Suki, it had certainly not been a swell of infatuation that he felt. It had been irritation at being bested, a wound to his pride that she had somehow healed over as he had trained with her. Getting your hind end handed to you was always a humbling experience: looking back, it had been humility that he sorely lacked. It had made him grow up, if just a little bit.

And seeing her again on the way to Ba Sing Se, it had been so nice: so good to see a familiar face, an ally in the slew of enemies. The residual effects of what happened to Yue had led him to be overly protective, up until he had watched her dive into the water with the sea serpent as a way to prove herself.

So why had he kissed her?

He looked down at her now, face unpainted by makeup and wearing generic Earth Kingdom clothes, a knife in her belt. She had a fairly plain face in comparison, but there was another kind of strength in her eyes. Persistence, courage, will, and the Kyoshi-bred instinct to fight to the death if need be. Sokka knew she nearly had, after listening to her story of what had happened to her other warriors.

So different from Yue in every way.

She was far from perfect and delicate. It was the small imperfections, actually, that attracted him rather than beauty. The crook in her nose. The slant of her mouth. The roughness of her reddish-brown hair. The complex color of her eyes as they shifted from blue to grey like storm clouds, the eyes that promised she would never give up. The strength of the arms she had wrapped so tightly around him.

And this felt right, too.

When he had been with Yue, she **had** seemed perfect, almost too delicate to touch, and he was afraid that she would disappear if he touched her. In a sense, she had. A beauty that the world was no longer fit to host.

But Suki, Suki was there. So utterly and completely there, as he had realized over the past weeks. She stood by him, faced down danger with him. She was rooted and strong. A part of him, really. His heart, at least. A good half of it.

And he was sure that Yue would have wanted him to be happy, after she had given herself up to save them all.

"Suki, I'm always a very truthful person," he finally smiled.

And he kissed her.

Under the moon that suddenly shone slightly more brilliant, Katara grinned and closed the eye that she had been keeping cracked open. No need to be nosy. Leave them to their business.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Mai was bothered, although it was hard to tell behind her stony expressions. When had she decided that it was best to hide everything that went through her head? Probably some time back at the academy, lying in the dirt after being bested by another pupil, who stood and laughed. "Aww, you're not gonna _cry_, are you?"

Keeping the same face on really did work. She liked not having her heart out for everyone to see. No one's business but her own.

So as she had watched Azula execute the outspoken man, the day of her speech before all of Ba Sing Se, Mai's thin face had not changed in the slightest.

But inside, something had been pricked.

Very very slightly, of course. This was war, it wasn't supposed to be pretty or feel good. That was the price of power.

But that man, he had reminded her of her father for some reason. Same age, same sort of face, same foolishness. And Mai had to wonder why she even cared: she had always convinced herself that her family, really, meant nothing to her. Nothing whatsoever. She would look out for herself, she didn't need them. She didn't need anybody.

So then why did the idea of seeing her own father be executed strike such a cord in her heart? The thought of it being her own mother's screams that had wailed out afterwards, clutching the charred body? She didn't understand.

And she was certain nobody else would, either.

So when Azula had personally hammered on the door the next morning to wake Mai up, she had said absolutely nothing unless necessary.

"Some of the prisoners escaped last night. These wretched guards couldn't defend this place if it was stormed by bees."

"Well, bees _do_ have sharp stingers," Ty Lee commented, walking up to the two.

Azula realized that her hand was heading towards her burn scar to rub it, and forced it away. She was loosing control again.

"Also, the troops are here," she said. "Just in time for a little hunt. Meet me in the throne room as quickly as possible."

The cold steel in her voice made both Fire Nation warriors flinch inwardly, but neither said anything to the other.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Azula laughed as she tried to mimic Ty Lee's perfect cartwheel, but found her own six-year old body to be much less nimble, and she fell into the grass with an unceremonious thud.

"Cart wheeling is stupid anyway," Azula grumbled, sitting up and brushing off her robes.

Ty Lee shrugged, expecting Azula to say something along the lines of that, and looked back over at Mai. She was trying to untangle her dark hair from the stupid bows her mom had dolled it up in, and wasn't having much success.

"Do you want some help with that?" Ty Lee offered.

"No! You'll just pull all my hair out," Mai replied, putting a defensive hand on her head.

Azula smirked.

"I could always just burn them off…."

"Not funny, Azula," and Mai had made a face. Her royal friend snickered.

"Well, you better hope Zuko doesn't see you like thaaaattt…." She sang in a sickeningly sweet voice. It prompted a blush from the young girl and a laugh from the two others.

Zuko was always a soft spot for Mai as a child, one that was constantly being poked at. Azula found it hilarious that anyone could have a crush on her dumb brother. Where had he gone off to, anyway?

"I'm bored," Ty Lee had said, an instant after she was done laughing. "What should we play?"

Azula looked around the courtyard, cogs turning behind her big golden brown eyes, until they rested upon a flock of little bird-mice eating up the crumbs Ty Lee had thrown. The eyes lit up, with a glint of what Ty Lee would later recognize as malice. For now, it meant that something fun was about to happen.

"Watch this," Azula had said.

Mai and Ty Lee had obeyed, observing their friend as she crept over to the flock of birds, and in one fast motion... _puff_! A dart of fire burst from her index finger, landing two on the wing as the rest scattered, and Azula clamped both struggling birds in her hands as she walked back over. Ty Lee was delighted to be able to see the birds so close up: they hadn't really been hurt, of course. This was just a game.

Mai hadn't seemed bothered either. After all, they were just birds. Birds that were really annoying and ugly, not to mention. She observed.

"See?" Azula had smirked. "Got 'em. They can't fly away now. Silly birds should have thought sooner, and now they're stuck." Her grip tightened as the little creatures frantically beat their wings.

And it took nine years, but Mai and Ty Lee finally pitied those birds.

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**A/N: Ah, another short chapter. And yes, so nothing happened that I promised would happen in this chapter, but I hope that that's okay with you all. Thought I needed some fluff, also hope it didn't drain any of my male (or female, for that matter: we like action too) readers of their interest. I've just been dying to write about how Suki deals with Yue and Sokka's past. And I wanted to add in that Mai has more going on than she reveals, especially since y'all like her. Thanks for reading!!!!!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Alright, Chapter 24. I got a request in a review for a more lighthearted chapter: it starts off heavier and then the mood goes up from there. Oh, and in a few days this fan fiction will be exactly month old. Yay!! If you read it and like it, leave a review. If you read it and don't like it…leave a review! I welcome all forms of comments. Thank you. Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, nor do I work with the studio in any way: if they were offering jobs, I'd take one. I would be thrilled just to clean the wastebaskets in the creator's offices.**

Chapter 24

Zuko recalled his father speaking to him, the time when he had gone out to "play" with Siyu, a servant's son from the Earth Kingdom. For Zuko, playing with children his own age meant hanging back and watching them, since everyone seemed afraid of him. When he had seen the other boy earthbend, he had gasped in wonder. It was so interesting to watch! How odd, to have the ground move and twist like that, so different from firebending.

But Ozai had caught him, sneaking into the gardens over the palace wall, covered head to toe in dirt and looking to see if the coast was clear. By the time he saw the towering grown-up person with the red and gold robes, it was too late to run.

"Dad!" he had shouted, falling out of his bush and flat into the dirt. Ozai's strong hands had lifted him to his feet effortlessly.

"Prince Zuko," Ozai's icy tone had said, "where were you?"

**Prince Zuko**. Sheesh, couldn't Dad ever call him just plain 'ol Zuko?

"Playing with Siyu," Zuko had said immediately. He seemed born unable to lie, whereas with Azula it was an art: the condition would improve little in ten year's time, and right now he smiled up at his father.

He got no smile in return.

Uh oh.

"Zuko," Ozai said quietly, dropping down to his son's height, "you shouldn't be out associating with that Earth Kingdom waste."

"Why?" he had asked, not even sure of what "associating" meant.

"Because he's not the same as you. You are a prince, a firebender. That boy should be glad to simply serve our tables."

"Why?" Zuko asked again. He locked with his father's onyx eyes. Why was it that no other firebenders he had met had black eyes? Maybe Dad was special.

"They are lower than us. Do you have any idea how primitive and backwards the other nations are? Why, the Water Tribe is content to live in a frozen wasteland, with the simplest of governments, in little huts. They paint their faces like savages, still use sailing boats, not the sophisticated battleships we do."

Zuko laughed at the idea. He imagined visiting the Water Tribes: everything would melt!

But he recalled watching a waterbender once, a woman in the kitchens with eyes like the sky, watched her twist and snake the water into the pots when she thought no one was looking. Even in that simple maneuver, there had been so much grace and smoothness. It had been kind of pretty, actually.

"And the Earth Kingdom, look at their element. Stubborn and unchanging. They will never advance or give in to our attempts at improving them, and will be stuck forever in a time our ancestors moved beyond long ago. Earthbending itself is a disgustingly brutish and thickheaded style, in fact."

Zuko wanted to frown, but didn't. Siyu's fighting style was so fun to watch, like the earth was a direct extension of his own will. Smashing and bashing, Zuko wondered what kind of fights it would make for. Ozai looked into his son's eyes, wondering if any of this was reaching through the little fool's head.

"The Air Nomads were the worst. They considered themselves too important and lofty to be involved with the rest of the world, and were content to live in temples in the mountains, practicing peace and neutrality."

"Was that why it was so easy to kill them all, Dad?"

"Yes."

"But Dad, isn't everybody sorta kinda the same? Mom says that…"

"Zuko, you are a _firebender_. You can control the perfect element, the deadly and refined one that man has used to advance for centuries. You are the superior, and everyone else is inferior. You may someday rule over these peasants, so treat them as such. Understand?"

Zuko nodded. He should listen to Dad: Dad knew everything.

He never saw Siyu again.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sokka remembered standing on the shore and watching his father sail away, once again denied the right to prove himself worthy. How could Dad do that? Why did he have to go too? He didn't understand: he didn't understand it one bit. He was fourteen: he was ready!

Katara pressed herself against him in the cold, waving until she couldn't see the fleet anymore. Oh, she wished she was a good enough waterbender to just pull them all back in. _Don't leave, Dad, don't leave like Mom… _

And they were leaving because of the Fire Nation. It was all the Fire Nation's fault that this was happening to them, that Mom was dead and all of the men were gone.

"Why are we fighting them, Sokka?" Katara asked quietly, rubbing her necklace out of habit.

"Because they're evil, that's why. All firebenders are rotten to the core." Katara's eyes widened at the amount of hate that was in her big brother's voice. How could _all_ firebenders be bad? She questioned Sokka on this later, as the two were making dinner. Alone now, in their home. Just Katara and Sokka. But they would stick together, at least. This family wasn't going to get any smaller.

"It's their fire," Sokka said angrily, skewering his portion with more emphasis than needed. "Fire is bad: it's evil and hot and destroys whatever that it comes across. It has to burn up everything, and even then, it's never satisfied."

Katara drew back from the small blaze. Scary. How could people be that way? She asked Sokka this as well.

"They're not people," he remarked bluntly. "They're monsters."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

For some reason, Ozai's lesson in the garden came back to Zuko now, as they sat in the mountain forest clearing. They had stopped to rest during the day and fly at night, which made for some very boring days. It gave the Avatar time to train, the water girl said…. and it gave Zuko time to mull certain things over.

He had been searching this whole while, trying to pick out the absolute distinct line between himself and the other members of the group. That one thing that made all the other nations poison.

But he couldn't find it.

He had figured out how the dysfunctional little family worked itself, after some studying and eavesdropping. He had never really dealt with others to begin with, or seen how others interacted, and it was a lesson he took upon himself to learn out of boredom, possibly to find the defect that would prove his father correct.

The Avatar, he was the most childish one of them, playing with the lemur and the bison all the time if he wasn't practicing, and riding something he called the "air scooter." It was odd to think that he possessed centuries of power, the strength of a demi-god, somewhere in that featherweight frame. But he wasn't detached: actually, the little boy's heart seemed to be spilling over with care for his friends. And he had very large ears, Zuko observed randomly.

It was obvious that Uncle liked the airbender, probably because he reminded Iroh of his own childhood. The bond between teacher and student had sprung up almost overnight, and now the boy seemed almost to _enjoy_ his firebending lessons, if only because Iroh taught them. Zuko had not offered his services since that one day: He believed he had done his part.

Then came the blind earthbender. His father had been right about how stubborn the Earth Kingdom people could be, how unmoving. And yet the girl was in no way _brutish_. She was sharp, sometimes abrasive, un-ladylike, of course. But her behavior was, most likely, her way of showing affection. Especially towards the airbender, who she kicked around mercilessly during lessons.

The other Earth Kingdom girl, the Kyoshi warrior who seemed to be the Buffoon's beloved, she didn't talk to Zuko very much. None of them did, really, with the exception of the water girl, sometimes the Avatar. But she was poised, strong, and not nearly as stubborn as she should have been.

The Buffoon was the Buffoon, there was nothing to say. While the oaf had surprised Zuko with his combat abilities and occasional quick thinking, they had a well established loathing of each other that neither was willing to forfeit for any reason that might arise. Although, oddly, the Water Tribe boy had switched from calling him "Scarface" to the name the earthbender had given him, "Hothead."

And then there was her, the waterbender who had fought him at the North Pole, been trapped with him in the Crystal Caves, and battled again at Ba Sing Se. She was, more than anyone else, the leader. She was the uniting thread that bound all the others together: in her remarks, in her actions, in how she put so much effort into paying attention to everybody. She had even tried several times to call him into their circle at night, asking if he wanted some more dinner. He never replied.

And she wasn't savage at all, as much as some small part of him wanted her to be. If anything, of the four, she was the most perceptive. Although her peasant appearance and annoying nature did nothing for him.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Sokka, would you go get a fish for dinner?"

"What? A fish? Is there even a river around here?"

"We flew over one last night, that way through the trees."

"Don't have a fishing spear," Sokka shrugged. Katara sighed: he was just being difficult. Iroh and Aang were practicing firebending while Suki and Toph had decided to spar just for the fun of it, which left her to take care of all the boring stuff.

"You don't need a spear. Dad gave us a fishing net to use, back at the boats, remember?"

"Oh yeah," he mumbled miserably. He paused. "It'll take two people to work the net. Everybody's busy."

Katara gazed over at Zuko. The fire prince had been sharpening his swords before, and now seemed to be meditating: Zuko meditating was his sophisticated way of blowing them off and ignoring them. Which Sokka didn't mind at all.

"No, absolutely not," Sokka snarled, following her gaze. "There is no way that Sca…"

"Sokka, stop calling him that." It seemed just a little too abrasive: they were trying to make things work here, after all. Sokka rolled his eyes.

"There is no way that Hothead is going to help me."

"Well, it's either that or we don't eat tonight. I think you should be willing to make a few sacrifices."

Sokka groaned, and with a frustrated growl he snatched up his knife and net, stalked over to Zuko, and poked him hard in the head with the handle of his blade.

A twitch passed across Zuko's face, but he didn't move or open his eyes.

_Poke._

Zuko's left arm flexed, but he remained where he was.

"C'mon Hothead, fish time." _Poke poke_.

Katara almost wanted to hide her eyes from her brother's impending doom, but kept watching.

_Poke poke poke poke poke_….

It broke the firebender, and his hand shot out and seized the blade, yanking it from Sokka's hand and throwing it into the trunk of a tree. He looked on the Water Tribe warrior, seething.

Of course, he wasn't going.

But then the amusing image of seeing the Buffoon drown himself crossed Zuko's mind, versus sitting here while the bothersome waterbender tried to talk to him. A rock and a hard place.

And to Sokka's astonishment, Zuko got to his feet.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Of course, Zuko didn't know the first thing about fishing or setting up a net across the slow moving river. He had mainly watched the Buffoon struggle to put it up himself, and then sat back down on the shore and gone back to his meditation.

He heard the boy spit out water and sit down, as far away from him as possible, talking under his breath in long streams of obscenities. And they waited.

That was the way it stayed for a good hour or so, the enemies on either side of the bank and refusing to look at each other.

Until the splash had come.

That had caught Sokka's attention, and even made Zuko open his eyes to see it:

And see it they did, the fish that had caught itself up in their net as it thrashed.

The thing was **huge**: Sokka figured that it had to be longer than he was, at least, outweighing him by a fair bit. Could it be….?

"No way!" he cried enthusiastically, leaping up. When Zuko did not ask 'what', Sokka went on talking anyway.

"It's an alligator-fish! I've never seen one before! Heck, I wasn't sure they were real, and look at the size of 'im!!"

What was the boy doing? Zuko had to wonder. The fish flipped itself out of the water once more, its strong body one long arc, before splashing back down. And now the Buffoon had torn free of his shirt and was drawing his knife…

Oh, that fool.

And he ran into the water, not requesting any sort of backup to deal with the monster at all… it was his and he was going to catch it! And in a short dive, the Water Tribe boy vanished beneath the black surface.

Zuko sighed and closed his eyes again, but the splashing was hard to ignore. A whacking of a large tail on the water, the sound of ropes being sawed through, sputtering, coughing…

Then nothing. He wondered if the fish had eaten him, which would be a mix of fortunes on Zuko's part. At least it was quiet.

"WAAH-HAAAAAAA!!!!" a scream suddenly ripped through the air, in between two more massive splashes and thrashing from the middle of the river. For that, even Zuko had to look.

The gigantic fish with the hard, scaly body and rows of teeth shot from the water once again, dragging a net. A net, and the determined oaf who was clinging to it. Both disappeared yet again: Sokka drew a huge breath as they plunged under.

Zuko waited for them to resurface.

Watched the air bubbles and foam settle, wondering how deep the river was.

Just waited, bored out of his mind and wondering why he had ever left Ba Sing Se.

The Buffoon did not come up for air again.

He kept waiting.

_It doesn't matter_, he told himself. _I'm not his caretaker_.

So there he was, alone on the shore. If the boy drowned, he wouldn't be responsible, right?

The last of the bubbles disappeared, and it was completely quiet.

The firebender shifted, suddenly uncomfortable_. "Behind you, Scarface…."_

Zuko would have desperately liked to know who kept taking control of his body, because he certainly wasn't making many of these decisions on his own. He couldn't be, and so the situation was more Zuko, watching someone who looked like him pull off his boots, draw his knife, wade into the water and dive.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sokka, meanwhile, was fine. A little pressed for air, but he was from the Water Tribe: he would manage. He was becoming a bit anxious as the fish pulled him downwards, with Sokka unwilling to let loose on the net and his monstrous prize tangled in it. Why didn't he have a spear, of _all times_? It would have solved his problem by now. But nothing was going to get this thing back up to the surface, so he would have to….

He heard a splashing coming through the water. He squinted towards the surface, stray hair floating in his face, and was astonished to see that Hothead was there: The fish noticed too and shot upwards, a live torpedo in a flurry of bubbles, rocketing towards the other boy that was bothering it.

And it burst through, pummeling Zuko and pulling him under as well. The firebender grabbed the side of the fish on its rough scales, taking gasps of air as the thing suddenly went into a barrel roll, trying to shake them free.

"What are you doing?" Sokka shouted for the brief seconds that he surfaced, using up his air for insults and talking around the knife he had clenched in his teeth.

"You tell me, peasant!" he coughed back as they spun.

"Go away!"

"I wish I could, oaf."

"Jerk!"

One last attempt from the alligator-fish, and both young men finally let it go, allowing it to burst outwards and turn with a twist of its long, powerful tail.

It rounded about and sped through the water now, jaws opened wide to take a good bite out of Sokka, when he lashed out with the knife he had managed to hang onto, cutting deep into the fish's mouth and tainting the water with blood. Repulsed, the giant animal turned to dive back downwards: except that Zuko's foot was caught in the net it was trailing.

Fish and firebender both plunged, leaving a trail of froth behind them, and Sokka thought he saw the flash of a dagger in the cool fathoms.

_I. Hate. This. Guy_. It was all that Sokka could think as he took another breath and dove down, avoiding the glare from Zuko that managed to burn him even through the water, and cut away at the net. _But it is a pretty lousy way to die, after making it this far._

He would have gone up for air then, glad just to get back ashore, but he realized that the fish was no longer struggling as it had been, and was rather limp. Through the muck and blood floating in the water, he realized that a slit had been cut into his prey's left side, put there by a pearl-handled dagger that he noticed Zuko was clutching with a rigor mortis grip.

They grabbed the tail and pulled the creature ashore; breaking free and gasping for air as they flopped the carcass down onto the stony sand.

"Is it dead?" Sokka asked rhetorically, leaning over the huge catch as it lay there in the sun. Zuko spat out a gush of water and snorted.

"Of course it's dead, fool. What could possibly survive…"

_WHAP!!!!!_

Solely to prove Zuko incorrect, one last convulsive tremor ran through the giant fish's body, ending in its huge tail jerking into the air and landing both of them square in the face. Sokka was too amused at the shocked expression Zuko wore to be in any pain, although it would smart later.

What had possessed Angry Boy to come into the water and try to help him, anyway? The guy was so indecisive and inexplicable, it amazed Sokka that he knew which way was up.

As he looked between Zuko and the prize they had fought with, Sokka was unwillingly reminded of home. In the Water Tribe, even the most mundane and tiny of rituals carried some significance to its people: so when men went out fishing together, it was a symbol of the tribal community, the tribal _family_, looking out for and providing for each other even if things were scarce. Really, it was something you did with friends.

Sokka snorted with laughter again, and Zuko fixed him in another glare. Same as always.

"What's going…..what happened here?!?"

Sokka and Zuko both looked up, dripping wet, as Katara crashed through the tree line and sprinted down the shore.

"I heard shouting, so I…..what is that thing?"

"Alligator fish. Zuko and I caught it." _Zuko and I, huh?_ Okay, okay, so the angry jerk deserved **some** credit. Katara raised an eyebrow at Zuko.

"It was that or let him drown," the firebender snarled, ringing dampness out of his shirt, but abruptly halted and stared as all of it was pulled free, a strange sensation creeping over his skin as the peasant girl gathered up all of the water in her hands and tossed it back into the river.

"Well, we may as well get it back to camp. Maybe I can dry the meat, I dunno. What possessed you to think that we would need something of this size, Sokka?"

"I was hungry at the time," he shrugged, looking for a stick to carry it on.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was _delicious_.

As much as Zuko wanted the ugly fish to taste disgusting, to criticize the simple food these peasants scraped up, the smell alone made his mouth involuntarily water. (Maybe just a little bit, of course.) He looked over at the campfire ring as he took the customary seat outside of it, despite looks from Uncle in his direction. The oaf was in the middle of a more dramatic version of what had occurred, motioning wildly as the Avatar shook his head and chewed on some sort of root vegetable. Oddly enough, Zuko was given a fair share in the story.

Had it been him, or had the Water Tribe boy been trying to help him before?

_Backwards people._

But for some reason he had felt some small glean of pride at the accomplishment, even if it had been with the Buffoon's help. **Some **help, anyway. He had never gone fishing before, although he wasn't looking for a repeat experience.

"Zuko!" Katara called back, as she did almost every night, "Want some more? Spirits know there's plenty."

Zuko looked down at his hands, questions floating around his head. Why did she try so hard? Why did the airbender seem to have forgotten what he had tried to do to them? Why did the earthbender give him a nickname, which she seemed to brand only the members of her group with? And why had the Buffoon, who clearly despised his kind, been willing to save him from drowning? It made him suspicious for a few seconds.

But only a few, strange as it was.

And then, to the waterbender's obvious surprise, he walked over, sat down firmly, and served himself another portion.

He had never had "friends" before, either.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Sokka and Zuko. More male-friendship bonding stuff. I think that it's high time Zuko had some friends, anyway. And what brings people together like big smelly fish, I ask you? Not much. So yeah, here ya go. I had fun writing it, at least. **


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25, my friends!!!! Hope you enjoyed the last one. I've received requests for some Taang fluff, more firebending, and some secondary character re-appearances, so I'll work on it. Thank you for all of the reviews! This'll be a big chapter, so I hope your eyes are up to the task. Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar except in my dreams, so let's all be nice and not sue me.**

Chapter 25

Another night of flying, of taking shifts keeping Appa awake, another day in the saw- toothed mountains they were crossing. Sokka had said that they would reach Katsu come several days, so now there was really nothing to be done. It amazed Aang that they hadn't come across one single person this whole time, not a wanderer, a tiny village, nothing. It was a little unsettling, at least for him.

He rolled over on the ground next to a sleeping Appa, keeping his eyes shut and trying to block out the first rays of the morning sun as they raced over the ridges. A bird gave a maddened laugh somewhere in the trees, and he took a breath of the crisp air. If only he could sleep, wake up, and find out that the world wasn't falling to pieces, he would be content.

He would _also_ be content if that little foot would stop kicking him in the ribs…

Aang peeked one eye open, and discovered Toph standing over him, looking very serious and authoritarian. Kind of like she always did. He knew what was coming and grumbled softly.

"Up and at 'em, Twinkletoes. We have work to do: you've been spending so much time firebending that I'll be shocked if you can make a rock bounce."

"Oh, that's not true. Come on, I've been training really hard."

"Quit complaining, would ya? I picked out a good spot."

How long had she been up for, anyway? Aang scurried after her, looking back at his still- sleeping companions. Katara and Sokka, flopped down with Suki in between them, Iroh snoring with his back also against Appa, and Zuko lying by himself. Sort of. Momo had come to rest on the firebender's chest, and twitched an ear. The boy was so much warmer than all the others!

Looking over at him, Aang was still in a bit of a daze about Zuko actually joining them for dinner last night. Of all weird things! He was impossible to figure, that was all Aang could think.

He chased after Toph as he heard her small footsteps plodding away.

They arrived at the rocky arena, dusty and fringed by the sturdy, scruffy trees the mountains harbored. The gold of the eastern lights painted everything a softer tone, and highlighted the fine stone that Toph kicked up as she walked over to stand opposite him and banged a chunk of rock out of place.

Before she sent it flying his way, she paused, and asked him:

"So, Twinkletoes, I can see you're feeling better. What brought that on?" She cut clean through the rock and hurled the slivers at him one after the other.

Aang ducked the first, and rooted himself in his stance.

"What makes you think that?" he asked, over the crashes as he cut down the missiles of earth with his own.

"I have my ways. But still, I gotta ask what was bugging you in the first place."

She focused and heaved another storm of earth towards him.

Aang abruptly extended his arms and halted the next rocks that were headed his way: their progress stopped as though colliding with a wall, and they dropped from the air with dull thuds. He leapt lightly over the rubble, to land a few feet from his earthbending teacher.

He cleared his throat.

"Ya know, Toph, if you just want to _talk_ to me, you can do it. You don't need earthbending as an excuse."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snorted, but had already rested her hands at her side and pulled out of her stance.

"You know what I mean."

He had her there. She blew a strand of jet black hair off her nose and put her arms akimbo.

"Really, why were you so down?"

Aang also had to wonder why his anxieties were lifting, why he was any better at all. Things hadn't changed, had they? He still needed to let go of Katara, somehow. Katara, whom he had been avoiding ever since that day. Could she tell? Letting go…which still made no sense to him, even after Guru Pahtik's explanations.

"Just…um…stuff the Guru told me. About being the Avatar."

"Oh."

Toph sensed the discomfort in his voice. She wanted to dig farther into the matter, but something in her worried that Aang would just walk off and leave her if he really didn't want to respond.

"Being the Avatar, huh? Must be a pain," she finally shrugged, making a snake of rocks follow her foot as she traced patterns in the ground with it. Aang had to agree some. Why had he, over all the other airbenders, been chosen?

"Pretty much. If everybody wasn't out to kill me, things would be a little easier."

"Hmm. Yeah, that would be a problem." Toph looked down at the rocks, and offered out a strange question. "So what's it like to be an airbender?"

Aang thought. Toph certainly had been coming to him with strange questions lately, and it brought to light that he was the only person in the world who could answer that question; the question which struck Aang as being harder than the color one.

How to describe such freedom? To not be tied down to the earth, to be able to ride the wind's back like that? He knew Toph loved freedom and independence: being confined to your home all your life can do that. But he wondered…..

And then he got an idea, standing there and watching Toph fiddle with the rocks.

One quick leap had him on her other side, behind her, and he reached out tentatively.

"Twinkletoes, what are you…."

"Hold on!" He laughed, snatched her under the arms, and lifted them into the air on a gust of wind. Toph yelped in surprise and grabbed at him, gasping as the ground vanished under her feet when Aang cut them loose.

She had flown on his glider before, on Appa countless times, but it wasn't quite like this, this floating upwards, even if it was only for a few seconds.

Her body felt so unconstrained, light, free, her heart rushing from the surprise. Why was she not scared, as the earth's vibrations fell away under her feet? Why was she not taken back to the ice as a child, lost and blind, unable to "see" anything around her? But Toph pressed closer, and realized that she could still hear Aang's heart, the beating wings of a tiny bird, his soft vibrations still surrounding her. And she wasn't afraid.

Not at all.

She trusted him.

"What was that for?" she commented, when they landed.

"Oh, I thought you wanted to know what airbending was like, so, I dunno….."

"You coulda' dropped me, Twinkletoes," she tried to frown, to not let on how fun it had been. But the smile was impossible to contain.

"Like I would ever let that happen," he smiled back.

He thought about his next course of action, and then noticed that a yellow butterfly was fluttering around Toph's head. Her hair, upset by the leap upwards, was sliding from its confinements.

He gave a light puff of air that carried the butterfly dancing upwards gently, surprised Toph, and finally loosed the emerald and yellow ribbon she wore wrapped there, sending a burst of ebony spilling down her shoulders. It amazed Aang by how long it was, reaching down her back, a thick mane of it. She pushed it away from her face, frowning again and walking over towards him.

He had never seen her hair down like that, nor gotten as clear a view of the smoky green, sightless eyes.

_She's pretty_, he thought suddenly.

"Now help me find my ribbon, Aang," she sighed, trying to find where it had fallen. It was very light and drifting, she couldn't really feel it resting on the earth….

Aang picked it off the stem of a shrub where it had been blown, handing it to Toph. Their hands brushed: it had always surprised him, how rough her finger tips where. It was fitting, though. Tough as the rest of her.

She started to gather up her thick, dark hair, to put it back again. "Mother always wanted me to leave my hair in braids or something, leave it down. So I always pulled it back."

_That was too bad_.

Aang sighed, relaxing his shoulders and feeling much more at ease. Once he had gotten the hang of earthbending, it had been the most fun in some ways (after airbending, of course): waterbending felt very smooth and calming, but it made him think of Katara, which threw him into a fluster or confusion. Firebending still intimidated him, as funny as Zuko's uncle was to practice with, as important as it was for him to learn it.

But earthbending with Toph? He felt so familiar and comfortable around her: even if she was yelling at him, he knew enough to recognize that that was just her way. He would have been upset if she _didn't_ shout, in fact.

He thought of something.

"You know, I guess there are good things about being the Avatar."

"Like what?" she asked in a light and curious tone, fixing her hair into place again with a yank of the green ribbon.

"I get to learn all these different bending styles…. and I get to have all these different friends."

Toph smiled toothily again.

"I like it too, Aang."

And she turned and went back to camp, the sound of the airbender's real name lingering on her tongue.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Jin poked her head out into the streets, glancing around in the morning light before sweeping the dust out of the door and promptly shutting it.

She had known that she could not bring the escapees to her own home: the palace guard would figure _that_ out soon enough. So she had, instead, with Gen's cooperation, moved the whole family into an apartment on the other end of the massive city. Let the Dai Li hunt: it was finding a needle in a haystack. But although her reward of seeing Qiu throw himself into his father's arms had been more of a reward than she had ever expected, she was still at a hiatus. What was she going to do now?

She walked in through her home, opening drawers as she did.

Jin collected the supplies she needed and went slowly up to the small room above the apartment. She passed Smellerbee, throwing knives at a small target she had drawn on the already ruined wall, talking to Longshot, who didn't reply. Jin felt sorry for them: it must be terribly boring to just sit in here.

She grasped the ladder leading up, listening for any shifting from their third guest. But he heard her coming and settled down himself, meeting her eyes as she appeared in the attic.

"Hi" she smiled.

"Hi," Jet mumbled back monotonously, sitting on the floor and staring at a lantern's light. Of all the Freedom Fighters to keep in confinement, he was the one who was bothered most by it.

He noticed the wrappings Jin was carrying and grumbled some more, undoing the armor he insisted upon wearing and letting the shirt drop, to reveal a torso already wrapped neatly in white bandages. At least he cooperated.

Jin walked over and quickly unbound them, revealing a whole network of ugly bruises. Smellerbee had failed to mention the second beating the boy had gotten shortly after they were arrested, previously. There was actually a lot she wanted to ask him, like about being a Freedom Fighter. How he had gotten here. Why his dark eyes carried such a fire-eaten look. Jin was very tentative to question the brooding boy about it, and instead decided to ask him something that had been haunting her for some time now.

"Jet, I wanted to ask you…."

"Yeah?" He stiffened as she began winding the fresh bandages around him, trying to hold everything in place until it healed.

"When you were imprisoned…."

Her voice rose and fell, and Jet looked back at her, wondering what was wrong.

"….was there ever a boy there? A boy with his old uncle? Did they get arrested?"

A dark sensation crept into Jet's heart, but his face stayed taciturn. He shook his head. No, it couldn't be. After all, how many countless boys were in the city with some sort of uncle or another? But what Jin said next did nothing for him.

"He's got dark hair, with a really big burn scar over his left eye……"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ozai had been bothered by the strangest of dreams lately, as he tried to wash the weariness from his eyes, disgusted by how cumbersome the whole thing was. He walked down the hall, to a meeting in the war room with the generals. Several were missing, having gone to Ba Sing Se. They had probably arrived by now.

And so he would sit and plan: the maps in his possession had filled up, the Fire Nation spread to every corner of the globe, with the exception of the North Pole, of course. Zhao had failed at that miserably at it. Those who had survived the strange spirit battle had claimed to have seen him dragged to the depths.

But an invasion of the last free kingdom seemed a fitting way to close out this war, fire and water. Was the Avatar a problem? Of course he was: his grandfather had always pointed out how crucial the Avatar's death was, in their quest for power. But it was nothing that Ozai couldn't repair, nothing he couldn't contest.

He was reminded of his dream as he opened the door, greeted by a sweeping of bows as he passed. Success was so close at hand, and he didn't feel the slightest bit uneasy now, compared to how he had felt in the dark last night.

The dream was ragged around the edges, foggy in his waking memory, but he could recall enough of it to serve his purposes, although he would never tell a soul about it.

The latest one, which had awoken him last night, that had been strange. Meaningless, but strange.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

In his mind, Ozai had been walking into the throne room, striding through thick shadows despite the fire surrounding the dais. He moved amazingly slowly, as if the darkness was clawing at him: he was wearing battle armor, and could hear a scuffling against the metal as the shadows clustered. A scattering of golden pinpoints, all trained upon him as he progressed ever so gradually. A ghost of dark laughter.

But Ozai was not bothered by it, not at all.

When he finally reached the dais, the throne of the Fire Lord had not been empty, as he could see through the wall of blaze. Someone else was in his place, with a dragon coiled around him. A red one, guarding and protective.

"Bow, Ozai," came a soft yet strong voice from the shadows. And out of them pulled Ursa, as pale and beautiful as the night he had killed her, the same deadly gleam in her eyes.

"To who?"

"Why, your son, of course."

Yes, he could see the face now, the sharp nose and the marring scar. The golden crown upon his firstborn's head. Ozai's face darkened.

"Come down from there, boy, and renounce what is not yours."

"I already have," his son laughed back, his voice nothing like the sniveling whine of the fourteen year old boy Ozai had banished. "Your love, my birthright, my honor. None of those were ever mine to begin with, father. It was all an illusion."

"Then come down here and kneel as you should, child."

Zuko shook his head quickly, and a storm of flame burst to life in Ozai's hand. "You insolent…."

"I'm coming, father," Zuko said suddenly, standing and stepping right through the blaze. And as he walked through the flame, like a trading of marks, the scar vanished, and….. Ozai realized he was looking into his own face, and that he was suddenly kneeling on the hard stone, pushed there by the living shadows. _But it wasn't really_ _his face_, he had to think.

The thing, wearing Ozai's face but seeing through pale, blazing gold eyes, smiled. "Look for Zuko. I'll be coming soon as well, and then we can settle this at last. Oh, and after so long. Reunited, how nice."

"My son is a traitor and a failure," Ozai tried to snarl, but only managed to choke it out.

And he heard a swarm of voices then, clamoring for his ear, all dark and full of a blackened joy.

"Poor fool, poor mortal!" one hissed in his ear. "And you have stolen so much of our darkness into yourself, just as your ancestor did. We couldn't get your son, so you'll do."

"Take him instead, then. Take Zuko," Ozai had growled in his sleep, trying to turn off the voices, pulling against the blackness and burning back the darkness. A pair of eyes lit up next to him.

"We have no claim on your boy anymore: he has cast us off and allied himself with our foe…but _you_ haven't."

"Ah, the price of power," said another one.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hakoda quickly purchased the maps in the port town shop, reviewing the course they still had to take. They were at the bottom of the Earth Kingdom now, planning on curving around and going up its west coast. He sighed, wondering how long it could take: certainly, the Fire Nation ship, which he had left several miles down the shores as so not to have it be spotted, was much faster than a Water Tribe ship.

He didn't like it, though. All the metal and machinery, it severed him many times over from the ocean he had long made friends with as a boy. Not the best way to travel, but it was what he needed.

The Water Tribe warrior's thoughts returned to Katara and Sokka, where they always were, wondering how things were faring with the firebenders. Hakoda didn't share his son's hatred for the Fire Nation people in general, but he did carry much of the mistrust. _Katara and Sokka can look out for themselves_; he had to keep telling himself...he walked out of the shop with his map under his arm, turned to go down the street, when he heard a chorus of shouting.

Fire soldiers, of course. They were everywhere: Hakoda made a note to purchase Earth Kingdom garb, it would make sneaking through a crowd easier. His hand went to the knife he carried in his belt, expecting an attack……

When he realized that those "Hey you!" cries weren't directed at him, but another man who was going in the same direction, who looked older than Hakoda himself.

"You! I'm talking to you!" roared the captain again, summoning a flame into his hands.

The man ceased, and turned to them, thoughts running over his face. Curse the bad luck, really. And all he was doing was passing thorough.

"Can I help you?" he asked coldly. Hakoda could tell that this man was obviously not planning on helping anybody.

"Ha! You can come with me, for starters, **fugitive**. You're under arrest, wanted by the Fire Nation for treason, desertion…."

And the captain made to move forward on the man. Hakoda sighed: anyone against the Fire Nation was, while not his ally, worth protecting. The defiant ones were just so hard to find these days.

The Water Tribe leader finished the act of pulling his knife free, and hurled it. A flash of white bone, it cut the air and struck the Fire captain in his outstretched arm, which he clutched at in a howl of pain.

The man turned to Hakoda for a moment, and noted the rush of fire racing towards him, thrown from the hands of the accompanying soldiers.

And to Hakoda's shock, the stranger stepped over, twisted down into a fighting stance, spread his hands wide, and parted the sea of fire as it danced in tides around him, pushing upwards. The banner of flame spun into itself and disappeared, and the man turned and sped away, Hakoda not too far behind as the shouts rose in the streets.

"Thank you," Hakoda called to the man as they ran down the water's edge, bowling people over in their haste. "I'm in your debt."

The man didn't say anything for a moment, turning to sweep a river of fire out at their pursuers, and shouted something over the roar of the blaze. Hakoda suddenly spotted something coming down the coast, something black and surprisingly welcome lumbering towards the dockyard. His men had decided to meet up with him after all. The traitor firebender took in the sight.

"Where are you headed, Water Tribesman?"

"North Shore, to meet my children and their friends." It was amazingly easy to talk, considering that the two were still running, reaching the end of the docks as the battleship was brought about, probably at the adept hands of the Earth King.

"My children Sokka and Katara," he grinned. A proud father.

The man's eyes, although preoccupied, widened. A thin set of scars ran down one of them, Hakoda noted.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

So the day began with earthbending, and it would end with firebending, as Katara and Suki loaded Appa up for another night's ride. Aang walked over to Iroh, ready to ask him, as he watched the sun set once again. Another lesson, another worthwhile struggle. He had to keep in mind his greater motives, even if it was hard. Think about the ones you're protecting.

But as Iroh had gotten to his feet, looking rather tired from the little sleep that their group had gotten, another voice had spoken over him.

"Uncle, you rest. I'll do it."

Iroh couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, but he nodded to his nephew. Even if Zuko looked reluctant himself.

Aang concluded, then and there, that Zuko had been replaced by someone else at one time or another, and tried his best not to stare at the exiled prince as they walked out to the same spot that Toph had taken him that morning. Nothing to catch fire, at least. Katara stood there, looking on, with her water at her side: for whatever purpose she may need it.

The clearing looked very different at sunset: the soft light now threw sharp shadows, casting dark and lengthy replicas of the two benders out over the rocks. Zuko called Aang to his attention.

"Avatar, what has my uncle taught you so far?"

"Pretty basic stuff. You know, fire balls, intercepting attacks…."

"It's the basics that are most important: you need a strong base to build on." He had learned that the hard way, in his brashness and impatience. Uncle had always said that, and Zuko had never believed him. But now, as he stood opposite the little boy who was to save the world, he thought he understood.

"Okay. What do you want me to do?"

"What else? Attack me. We'll see how you fair."

"Um, sounds good." It did not sound good, but Aang wasn't going to let Zuko know that. He closed his eyes to take a breath and start the process, when the gray eyes snapped open again.

"Zuko?"

"What?" he said back harshly, taking his own defensive stance in preparation. He did not expect much of the boy, but he _was_ the Avatar. And after that first day, so long ago, when he saw the avalanche of ice come crashing down upon his ship, he had learned not to underestimate the boy's power.

"What made you decide to teach me, all of a sudden?"

Zuko froze for a moment, and then replied calmly. "My father is ruthless: my uncle goes far too soft on you." Zuko knew it was because his uncle couldn't bear the idea of hurting Aang. The airbender nodded.

Aang found his center, learning to speed up the process, and expelled a quick wild shot of fire that burned the ground five feet from Zuko. He looked dismayed for about a second, and then that expression changed to fear as Zuko rushed him, blaze coiling up his arm as he reached out.

Katara's back straightened slightly, a jerk of her hand.

Aang's first instinct was to duck, leap, dodge, but he would need to stand his ground in his fight with the Fire Lord, and so he may as well start now. _Face it down like an earthbender would._

With another huge breath, Aang let go a much larger flare of fire directly at the oncoming blow, which Zuko turned through and pushed aside, kicking a blast of it upwards at Aang. The airbender dodged left, right, a punch of flame blocked by his teacher's hands. He ducked low, kicking Zuko's feet out from under him, which sent his opponent crashing down for a brief few moments before he leapt up again.

Zuko now wielded a long -burning stream of blaze that knocked aside the boy's consecutive blows, using it like a shield before pushing it outwards. Similar to a waterbending move, actually.

Aang dug into himself farther, pushing the chi outwards with each breath, wondering if it had been the dragons that the firebenders had first learned from. The dust they were kicking up was ridiculous in the dying light, but Aang could get a clear view of his sparring partner.

Dragging the golden energy up, he stretched and lengthened it, pushing and pulling at it like a water whip, amazed by how willingly it submitted to him.

Katara smiled, glad her lessons had carried over into something else.

The Avatar twisted the whip tightly as it cracked in the air, meeting and striking against Zuko's own, until Aang's fire whip found an opening and seized it, snatching the blaze from the prince's hand and making it vanish. Golden eyes widened: he had just been disarmed by the child.

But he was determined not to loose now. A swell of heat growing in his chest and pressing on his heart, frustration and anger building as the fire appeared and began to whirl about him, a growing inferno….and Zuko saw the danger rising. He muzzled it, pushed it back, with another breath, sweeping away the flames.

Zuko lay his hands down by his sides.

Aang, after a moment, did the same, noting the very unhappy expression that had tramped itself across Zuko's face. It made him think of Katara, actually, who also used to hate when she was upstaged.

"Very good," he said finally.

Katara breathed a sigh of relief, and also noted how Zuko had somehow managed to check his temper there. What brought that on?

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

So it was his turn now, to keep the first vigil as the little band of peasants flew onwards. The whole idea was stupid: there wasn't a soul in this entire mountain range to speak of. It was almost desolate, actually. The forests and the moonlight, that was all there was. He sighed, sending a plume of fire and smoke out his mouth as he did so.

He heard a shifting of cloth behind him.

"You shouldn't do that, or you'll scare Appa," came a hushed voice. He turned to look at the blue eyes of the waterbender.

"Do you ever sleep?" he remarked, clearly unwilling to be drawn into a conversation.

"I've been doing it less and less lately," she sighed, rolling her eyes and crawling over to pat the sky bison behind the ears.

They were very quiet, with Zuko contemplating his match with the airbenders as they flew, leaving the water girl to her own thoughts. The boy was an amazingly fast learner, he had to admit, in some miniscule corner of his mind, far enough from his pride as so not to damage it. Was that because he was the Avatar, or was he the Avatar _because_ of such qualities?

"I always hated losing to Aang when we trained."

"What did you say, waterbender?"

She looked at the sleeping form of the Avatar. "I got really mad when I first started training with him, because he was so much better at it than me to begin with. Don't lie, you were mad about what happened earlier." Was she being annoying? She wondered.

"My reactions are really none of your concern, waterbender."

Waterbender? What had happened to "peasant"?

"But you know what?" she continued, fiddling with the charm she wore at her throat, "it changed. After teaching him for this long, I'm just happy when he learns it. It's like I'm succeeding along with him, and when he does well, I do too, somehow." She was babbling, and she knew it.

But that connected feeling wasn't unfamiliar. Her mother had cried only a handful of times in the seven years of Katara's life before her mother's death, but when she did, it was terrible. Because Katara would always start crying as well, for no other reason besides that Mom was hurting. Same with Sokka, really. When he was happy, she was. If he was sad, her heart hurt along with it. Aang, Toph. They were connected, really.

So here was the connection being extended to Zuko. She wondered if he would accept it.

He made no remark about that, but his eyes were drawn to the pendant.

He recalled her anger when he had tried to bribe her with it, knowing only that it may have meant something to her as he held it out to her. _"My mother's necklace…"_

It was strange that Zuko had never thought about those words prior to sitting here, above the world, but it clicked quietly as he remembered her crying down in the caves. _"The Fire Nation took my mother away from me…"_

The last thing she had of her mother's, and he had stolen it. Treated it as a bargaining chip. Was this guilt which was again settling in him, that strange sensation? _Yes,_ he told himself. _And justly so_. Which was why the girl's next words shocked him.

"I forgive you, by the way." It took a lot of effort for Katara to say it, but she did, with a big breath of air. Did it even matter to Zuko? Probably not, but she wanted to say it anyway.

"Why is that, waterbender?"

"Just…remembering something my mother told me once." _Look out for others, Katara. Never give up... _"Saving Sokka from drowning himself and helping Aang learn to firebend helped." She smiled, to which Zuko did not smile back. This was frustrating.

Then Zuko turned to her again, watching the smooth pendant in the moonlight for a fraction of a second.

"So it's a betrothal necklace? That's what the woman in Geming called it." He was slightly curious: the look in his eyes betrayed him.

"Wha? Oh. Yeah, it was given to my grandmother when she was in the Northern Water Tribe. A future husband will spend hours carving it before he presents it to his wife to be."

"Sounds like a waste of time."

Katara frowned, wondering how much more of this her patience would endure. She had thought it was nice, actually. A token of love for one another.

"Well, how does it work in the Fire Nation?"

"A man will present the woman's father with some sort of good. A sword, livestock, fine pottery, silk. And then the father will decide whether the exchange is fair, and if her dowry is worth the man she'll marry."

Katara wasn't sure she liked that, being bartered, but nodded.

"So then what are the weddings like?"

And that was how it went on, for some time until Katara offered to finish the watch for him. Discussing their cultures, the stories of their people, keeping their opinions just below the surface. Normal, intelligent conversation which both gleaned something from.

Before Zuko went to sleep, he contemplated why he felt so satisfied, suddenly. There was something about knowing one is forgiven that lifts the spirits that way.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Thaaaaat's all, folks. Thank you for all of the reviews, I hope this satisfied you guys. The little suggestions really help me add to the story. Okay, see you in Chapter 26, where they should finally get to the second city. Have a good day!!!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Whoa. I'm past 21,000 hits already. It's crazy! Hope everybody is doing well in this boring time of January: although if anybody has a birthday in January, happy birthday!! So, on with the show. Thank you for all of the feedback on the last few chapters. It's great! Disclaimer; I don't own Avatar. As a matter of fact, I don't own much at all, so yeah. You know. Have fun.**

Chapter 26

"Dad! Dad! Catch me!"

"Where are you-AH!" a man in his thirties turned sharply, in time to stretch out his sturdy arms and snatch the little boy who came hurtling from the branches of a well-groomed tree.

The boy was seized in giggles as he squirmed in his father's arms, trying to touch the ground and bolt. No luck! His father, who by the boy's estimate must have been the strongest man in the whole world, held him fast.

"Ah ah, Lu Ten. Now it's _your_ turn to find _me_."

The boy turned and looked up into Iroh's face and smiled: Dad's dark hair was all pushed over to one side, and there were a few leaves in his beard. "But I just thought of a really really good spot!"

His father shrugged.

"Don't worry: I don't fit many places, you'll find me quickly. I'm very bad at hiding."

Lu Ten shook his head. "Nuh- uhhh. Mom says you're a master of disguise when you need to go to a banquet."

"Oh no…" Iroh looked Lu Ten in the eye, glancing around before whispering, "You didn't tell Mother about my disappearing-and-avoiding-people power, did you? I told you, that special ability is our secret."

Lu Ten whacked his father in the shoulder. "Dad, you're so goofy."

But of course, Dad was lots and lots of things besides. He was really brave, too. Sometimes not really even _Dad._ Lu Ten loved to listen in on the tales of his father's war victories, loved to swell with pride at his heritage, but sometimes…seeing Dad in his armor, in the war room, planning, sparring, it was like seeing a different person. Lu Ten, at his age, kept the two personalities separate.

Iroh disheveled his young son's hair playfully, finally setting him down. He realized, glancing up at the sun, that his father would be expecting him for a meeting.

"Now, we're not going to tell Mom about me letting you climb these trees, are we?"

Lu Ten cocked his head to one side. "Why not?"

Iroh looked up at the delicate tree and down again at his son, inspecting the damage to both the blossoms and his son's clothing. Neither were very noticeable, thank the spirits. "Because Mom doesn't like it when you go climbing around in the trees."

No, Kazah certainly did _not_. She behaved as though the boy were made of blown glass. Nothing quite on earth like a patient woman's temper.

"Dad?" Lu Ten asked, as Iroh took his son's hand and began to walk out of the garden.

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask Uncle Ozai to play with me?"

"Ah, he's busy." Ozai had just reached his seventeenth year, an occasional "playmate" and idol of Lu Ten, now preoccupied at all hours by Azulon's order.

"Oh. What's he doing?"

"He's training his firebending."

Lu Ten made a face, twisting his round little features. "Blah. Doesn't it ever get boring?"

"Oh no, learning is wonderful. Always."

"Yeah, but Uncle Ozai **still **can't play with me….can he show me what he learns?"

Lu Ten looked up imploringly at his father, up, up, up. So tall!

Iroh's happiness spilled over as he looked down into his son's face, a mixture of his wife's eyes and chin, Iroh's nose and hair, perhaps. The Fire Prince smiled back.

"I'll tell you what. If you pay attention in your studies with the scholar…"

"Who told you I wasn't paying…."

"Your mother, of course. But here's the deal: you do well, and you and I can start doing some firebending training for ourselves. Sound good?"

Lu Ten's face lit like a beacon, filled with wonder. Firebending? Like Dad? Like Ozai? He jumped up a bit and ran off, to find the scholar and learn whatever stuffy boring history he needed to. He would be a warrior!

Iroh looked after his son's retreating back, a smile still lighting his face. At that moment, his entire heart was full of that one little child, brimming with his laughter and his ways. How could he ever love another child as much? Iroh figured, then, that he couldn't: that sort of unconditional, complete love found a man only once in his lifetime, if at all.

But decades later, he watched a young man with a scar, a past that would have broken anyone else to pieces and a heart of gold, instruct and duel the boy that was to free the world. And as he listened to him, conversing with the waterbender who was his former enemy, thinking of how the boy had learned and changed, Iroh knew he had been wrong.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jin had her head in her hands, still trying to steady herself and absorb the shock of yesterday. She had been fine for a while after Jet had exploded, about the firebender with the scar, the one masquerading as a refugee to "infiltrate the city." But looking down into her breakfast this morning, it had reminded her mundanely of her date. And she had broken.

Lee, a firebender. A firebender! A murderous, monstrous, cold-hearted firebender. And it made sense, despite her urgent wish for it not to. Anything but that, to unmask the boy who had made her blush so, who had made her heart speed itself. Who had kissed her, there by the fountain.

The fountain, whose lanterns had been lit within a few minutes after he had said huskily, almost a whisper, _"Close your eyes…" _Lee…

_You know, that's probably not even his real name_, Jin thought bitterly, rubbing tears from her eyes. She felt like a complete fool, there with Smellerbee sitting across from her, studying her. The girl, though trying, was rather unsympathetic.

"Sheesh, you're still leakin' everywhere? C'mon, it's not that bad." The little girl offered a handkerchief, which Jin buried her face in, inhaling its soft scent to calm herself. _Why am I crying? I knew him for such a little while…._

She couldn't explain it. But something had been hurt. Jin hated being lied to, more than almost anything else in the whole world.

She stopped her crying abruptly, as she heard footsteps coming into the room behind her.

"Bee, is she alright?" Jet said, raising an eyebrow. What was she carrying on about? Lee, that miserable firebender who had gotten him in trouble in the first place. Who had messed him up, in all his plans of starting over.

But he did feel bad for the girl, her hair un-plaited as she was crumpled up there. _What had Lee been to her_? But he thought he knew the answer, and it fueled his hatred more. Liar.

Jin dragged in a breath.

"Okay. Okay, I'm alright now. All better." She sniffled and stood, noticing that her dark hair was undone, pulling it back from her wet face. She sniffed again.

"Better? Really?" Smellerbee asked without wanting an answer.

Jin nodded, stepping out of the small room that served as the quarters for Smellerbee and herself, walking towards the tiny kitchen. This apartment was far too small for all of these people, even if Gen and Tao were staying somewhere else. Hiding out was never too comfortable.

"Do you want something to eat?" Jin asked, although she was already taking out things to start, moving with a sort of obsessive urgency.

Jet thought. "That would be fine."

Jin started the fire with a few strikes of the spark rocks, and placed the kettle over it. She looked over at Jet.

"So…" she sniffed one last time, trying to distract herself.

"So what?"

"What did you want to do?"

That was, of course, a difficult question to answer. What _was_ he going to do? Not get arrested, that was what. And how was he to resist the Fire Nation, now that the troops had arrived here? He had had urges to simply give up many a time, as he had been trapped in that cell, but he needed to remind himself of who he was. He was a Freedom Fighter: freedom wasn't something that was going to just get handed to him.

Jet walked over to the grimy window, looking down into the street. There was a small, shrubby plant potted there, slumped over and withered. To Jin's bafflement, he tore off a leaf and its stem, placed it into his mouth, and chewed the end thoughtfully. His gaze was sort of distant; looking into the fire Jin was cooking over and going through his memory.

Outside, a battalion of armor-clad boots stormed past, red glinting in the sun. And Jet raised one sharp, angular eyebrow. He had hit something, and he allowed one of the first smiles he had worn in many weeks.

"You know, there was the very interesting guy in the cell across from us. Seems as though his men stabbed him in the back when the Fire Nation took over."

Jin turned to him, frowning, as she put a cup in front of him. "What about him?"

"Oh, he's a complete snake. Oily double-crosser. But you know the saying: any enemy of my enemy….."

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

"Well, what are we going to do?"

"What?" Katara asked, spooning the rice porridge into Sokka's bowl. He looked at it distastefully for a moment before digging in. Bland, but not as bad as it looked.

They had left the mountains behind them several days ago, now traveling over relatively flat forests and fields. More populated areas, really. A miracle someone hadn't spotted Appa yet. Maybe they had…

"What are we gonna do in the next city? I doubt we're going to have as much help as we did in the last one."

"Help?!" Toph and Suki both exclaimed in unison. Suki looked over at Toph, letting her finish the thought. Toph's face twisted.

"We got ratted out. We could have been killed: that's what happens when you trust people…" Toph's attention was turned to her own bowl as Katara served breakfast.

"Regardless, we need some kind of plan," Aang said, as he dipped into the porridge and scattered some spice on it.

"We don't know what the city is even like."

"Well, it's a port," Iroh broke in, having traveled very briefly there. Unfortunately, there were no old friends to call on in Katsu. "There'll be a lot more Fire Nation civilians living there. Big trading center, which means that foreigners aren't uncommon. We have that on our side, at least."

"What else?" Aang asked, leaning in to serve himself more. This was _good_ _stuff._

"There's a network of coal mines not far from it. Biggest mine in the entire Earth Kingdom: the ships restock their supply there."

"Coal? That close to the ocean?" Sokka asked.

"Yes."

Sokka, the idea man, kept brainstorming while trying to stomach the meal his sister had made. She got points for effort, lost a lot for the end product.

"The city is very crucial to the Fire Nation," Zuko spoke up.

It was the first time he had said anything all morning, and everyone was a bit surprised. It would take a while for them to get used to hearing Zuko's voice and not taking a fighting stance. "Keeps the resources close to home, a point to stop at before the ships head out into the open ocean."

"Ah, a valuable asset," Sokka thought out loud. Zuko glanced over at him.

"That's what I just said…" And he cut himself off on the verge of an insult. For some inexplicable (and highly unusual) reason, Zuko had ceased calling him "Buffoon". Maybe to reciprocate the dropping of "Scarface." Sokka wasn't sure, but he kept his train of thought moving.

"Dad said that the guy who runs the city is kind of a whack."

"Like we never meet **those**," Toph rolled her eyes and turned to where she sensed Iroh's mellow, full vibrations. "Know him?"

"Ah, I've heard of him. He's only recently come into power, within the past few years. Zian, as I recall. I wasn't aware that he was a "whack", as you say."

"As if Father would allow imbeciles to stay in power in such an important city," Zuko snorted. He turned his nose away from the foul-smelling, rough portion that lay hot in his bowl. He would rather starve.

"Well, you never know," Sokka shrugged. So how could they do the most damage to the Fire Nation at this place? Start with the facts: it was a big, important port where many of their ships resided. It was too good an opportunity to pass up, definitely.

And then he began to think. By now, all the troops that were going to Geming would have left by now: it wouldn't take a few weeks for the news to travel both ways, and the response would be immediate. He already knew that the Fire Witch had summoned forces into Ba Sing Se, so that was where another chunk of the army would be.

And suppose, just suppose, that the Fire Nation Navy in this corner of the world were to hit a… problem? It took a fair amount of coal for a ship to get even across from the Earth Kingdom to the Fire Nation. So what if there were no more coal?

"How big are the mines, did you say?"

"Huge. They go on for miles. It takes hundreds and hundreds of slaves just to work it."

"Slaves?"

Iroh nodded, looking saddened. "Yes. Human trafficking is another bloodline of Katsu's wealth."

Katara's jaw hardened as she frowned, and Aang felt another prick to his spirit. How many had been suffering in all the time he had been away? How long had they been asking for help and not receiving it? _Not for much longer_, he assured himself.

"I just thought of something," Sokka said, cracking his knuckles. Strange that he announced it so coolly.

Katara waited for Sokka to continue: he was on a roll recently, in his own way. Spirits, he could be smart sometimes. Why did he not think before he acted half of the time?

"Alright," Sokka huffed, gearing up for his speech. "These coal mines are real important, right?"

Katara nodded, as well as Aang. Toph appeared to be deep in her own thoughts.

"So the Fire Navy ships need constant fuel, right?"

"Pretty much, especially if you need to get somewhere fast," Iroh offered.

"Oh, but they're not going to go _anywhere_," Sokka smiled deviously.

"And why is that?" Suki prompted, smiling knowingly at him.

"I say we destroy the mines. All the ships there to fuel up will be immobilized, and they'll probably have to ask for backup of some kind. What do you think?"

"Destroy them, huh? How would we possibly do that?"

"Shhhhh! Haven't thought that far ahead yet."

"Well," Katara continued, "we would need a way to do it: I'm just saying."

"I'm thinking," Sokka grumbled. "I'm thinking. Gimme a break. It's your turn for ideas anyway."

"But even if we collapse the mining tunnels, couldn't the Fire Nation just bring in some earthbenders to fix it?" Toph asked, fiddling with her own rocks in the dirt. Boy, Meathead sure sounded excited. Too bad the plan was half-baked.

Yes, that was a problem.

"I wonder how many waterbenders the Fire Nation can get their hands on," Katara commented casually.

"Why?" Aang asked. Katara grinned.

"Remember when we were with Jet, how we pulled out the water from underground?"

Aang nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on her face and watching the emotions on it.

"So how about, Sokka, we flood them as well? I doubt the Fire Nation can ship in a load of waterbenders from the North Pole as easily."

"So you're saying…."

"Aang and I bend the underground water and flood the mines in some areas, and then we can blast all the entrances shut as it fills up. So once the earthbenders get through…."

"Hmm. Not a bad idea," Sokka commented thoughtfully.

"Better than the one we had before, which was to just go in there and snoop until we found something," Suki yawned, standing. It had been a very long night, but they needed to keep going if they wanted to reach Katsu by nightfall at least. They had a lot of work ahead of them, that was for sure.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"General Ezar, so good to see you. It took you over a _month_, but you managed. " The cold voice came, echoing around the throne room. The man stiffened in fear for a moment, and reminded himself to bow, dropping his head as though fascinated by the marble floor.

He distinctly remembered being told, by those among his men who had met with Ozai's favored child before, to avoid the girl's eyes.

"I am at your service, princess. Forgive the delay. We were heading towards Omashu originally, and received the message. Accept my sincerest…" He said, trying to put the right tone on it. She cut him off.

"Spare the pleasantries: you don't want to be here any more than I do, so we should settle these affairs and be on our way."

The tone in her voice could have sliced flesh. Ezar winced, letting his eyes flicker up for just a second to see her there, in the Fire Nation colors once more, arms folded behind her. How could one so young have so much power? It astounded him.

"I am going to depart for the Fire Nation tomorrow. I have good reason to believe that the Avatar is going to move on our capitol in a month's time or so, when an eclipse is supposed to occur."

"An attack on the Fire Nation? Princess, do you not think that our services are more needed there?"

"Are you questioning me?" Steel. Pure, cold steel like a blade.

"No, not at all, Princess. I was just wondering."

"Very good. I need you to stay here and keep order in the city. We have tried for 100 years to obtain it; the price of your failure, I assure you, will be your untimely demise."

Ezar gave a curt nod, and a thought crossed his mind.

"And is your Prince brother going to accompany you?" True, he had not seen the boy since his arrival. All of the men feared Zuko far less, if at all. The princess made a strange sound in the back of her throat.

"My brother seems to have switched alliances, General. I can wish him a swift execution once he is captured along with the Avatar."

Ezar was in shock, but not as much as he was when he finally stood and got a look at the princess's ivory pale face. Ivory pale, with a lash of fire and burn tissue running down the side. She met his gaze and allowed him to look upon it for a moment.

Now, who could have possibly given her that?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Follow her" the water boy had demanded quietly, after the waterbender girl's footsteps faded and they watched her enter the city gates.

Sokka had been half-rabid, adamantly opposed to his little sister entering Katsu alone for any reason. Going to get maps of the terrain (so they could plot themselves correctly) and some Earth Kingdom clothing were far from good explanations. The clothing was for purposes of "blending in", she said. Just to stick out a little less. And Katara said that no one would look twice at a young woman shopping for things, if she could switch her Water Tribe clothing as soon as possible. She had wished them all well, and hurried off, joining inconspicuously with a large caravan of traders that were entering now. And her brother had shoved Aang and Zuko from behind and hissed something.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"Follow her. Stay as far back as possible and kill anybody who even looks at her wrong."

Aang agreed immediately, flicking open the glider and getting a few steps running start. He lifted noiselessly and vanished over the city wall, nearly impossible to spot in the dark sky. Zuko was less willing, and glared at Sokka.

"Why don't you?"

Sokka glared, and chose love of his sister over love of his pride, and a want to protect her over his dislike (but not quite utter hatred) of Zuko. He cleared his throat.

"Because you guys'll be a better match against a firebender, and two is better than one. Now will you **go** already? They're going to shut the gates."

"Go, Zuko," Iroh also whispered. Zuko muttered and darted forward, nothing more than a slip of a shadow as the last of the trading carts entered, and the massive gates shut behind them.

The city was rather unimpressive; much like any other city Zuko had ever been in. And there was the repeating memory, of sneaking around a city with the waterbender in the darkness. Hadn't he been here before?

He sighed and slipped into an alley, up the side of the apartment building like a spider, balancing on the ridgepole of the roof as he kept a keen eye on that bright spot of blue as she went into one of the shops. He scanned the skies for the airbender. Nothing. Balancing there, immune to the strong winds from the sea, his face nearly went into a smile. His days as the Blue Spirit would serve him well.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

And two hours later, he was very bored indeed. He had spotted the Avatar from across the street a handful of times as he sauntered along the rooftops, but only fleetingly.

Why had he allowed himself to be pushed into this? As had been clearly demonstrated many times before, the waterbender could take perfect care of herself. She did not require any assistance whatsoever, and Zuko was tempted many times to simply forget about it and leave her to her business. But then the slight chance of something _actually _happening rose up in him. Did he care? Why did he not just assume the Avatar would handle things? He wasn't sure, but he stayed on her trail.

She was a fair bit harder to spot, garbed in greens and browns, and he would occasionally lose sight of her for several blocks. But before any sort of anxiety could set in (and why would it?) he would sight the long braid again and continue this little chase.

Finally, with a bag slung over her shoulder, she made the turn to take her back out towards the gates, much to Zuko's relief. He was wondering much longer this would last.

He made a random observation about the way she walked, how large and unfeminine her stride was, taking strong and slightly bouncing steps, moving quickly as she could. Not the walk of a lady of the court, that was certain.

It was strange how little grace their was in her when she wasn't bending, but he supposed that that was just her lot. Better to be coordinated when someone was trying to kill you than when one was walking along on a shopping trip.

Lost in his thoughts, Zuko was surprised to hear a voice float up on the wind, followed by a reply.

"You there, girl, who are you?"

"Me? No one."

Zuko leaned over the edge of the roof and saw the men standing there, about two dozen armed escorts for the man who was at their center. He looked to be about middle age, rather short and strongly built, dark hair done up. He was wearing the strangest mashing of cultures Zuko had ever seen, all in colors that were terribly hard on the eyes, and a wry expression. One of the soldiers turned him.

"She won't say, Sir."

"Tell her that the Great King Zian demands it, if she wishes to keep her tongue," the man shrugged back. King Zian? The leader of this miserable city? Zuko's eyes flickered away from the scene to see the airbender touch down across the street, who gave him a little wave of acknowledgement and readied himself to spring.

Katara, not needing a secondary source, bowed slightly. "No, I would rather not. Now if you'll excuse me…." And she whipped hastily around to leave.

"How dare you turn your back on me, you little peasant brat! Arrest her, will you?" His tone was so lofty and snobbish that Zuko was amazed that he was taken seriously, and he watched with a bored expression as two of the larger members of the party stepped forward.

_Ah, mistake number one._

THWAP!!

And they paid for their mistakes dearly, as he watched the girl pivot and strike the two hard in the face, the silver stream of water weaving about like a ribbon as it shot forward.

"Hey!" Another man cried out, pulling a sword and hefting it above his head. _Mistake number two_. A tight twist of her arm at the elbow, and the water made a spiral that hooked the sword from his grasp and sent it into a wall with a clang.

Unfortunately, the airbender did not find the whole thing nearly as amusing, and there was a strong current of air that blew the disarmed one off his feet. The rest stayed rooted as the boy dropped down to the waterbender's side.

"**Aang?!!?"** Katara exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Saving you, I think," he replied.

To his right came a large guy armed with a spear, which he locked into the monk's staff and kicked a blast of fire under the contesting weapons. Aang shouted wordlessly as he leapt to avoid it, but the man only cut a long swipe of flame through the air above Aang as well. _Think of training, think of training_….

Aang snatched the flame as it traveled a few inches from his head, turning and pushing it into a cyclone that enveloped the solider as he stumbled backwards, brushing the inferno away. Up on the rooftops, his teacher unconsciously nodded his approval.

And that was when Zuko heard a slight and ominous sound, the brush of an arrow's fletching trained on the boy's center back as the archer let it loose.

_Shooting someone from behind? You should be ashamed to call yourself Fire Nation._

That was the last thing Zuko really thought of before the arrow exploded like a firecracker in mid-air, and the archer watched a shadow pull free of the others overhead and leap down among the King's Guard with a wail of steel being drawn.

Katara gaped as she saw Zuko as well. What, had everybody come with her? Did Sokka think she was that incompetent?

_I'm gonna kill him for that_, she growled inwardly. Another roar of fire came at her, from the man she was grappling with. These ones didn't seem your run-of –the mill soldiers: they knew what they were doing.

Katara dodged, calling water to her from a rain barrel to shield herself from the blaze, pushing the whole mass outwards with a grunt. The man held his ground and split it with a slice of fire, manipulated to mimic the shape of a sword. She looked over at Aang, and wasn't in time to see it happen.

The firebender Aang was dueling, one hand lashing out like a snake striking, jabbing the boy through his defenses in the right shoulder. Katara had seen that enough to know what it meant, and berated herself as she pushed through to get to him…

_Of course. Why would Ty Lee be the only one who knows_ _how to_…

She watched the Avatar's right side slump, obviously to his shock, but he shifted his weight to his left, reached out with an angry expression and shot a flame out at the man…only to be jabbed in the forearm and have the left side fail him as well. _What was going on? _

The man, now with the limp boy at his feet who was glaring angrily up at him, snatched Aang up by the collar and drew a blade, pressing it to the child's throat.

"If I may have your attention!" he shouted. He already had Katara's, and when Zuko noticed he lowered his swords, dissolved the flame around him.

"Ah, this turned into quite an exciting night walk," the man who called himself Zian chuckled.

There was stillness in the less traveled street as the two sides regarded each other with baited breath.

"Whatever he says, don't listen to him!" Aang shouted at Katara, who was glancing from the man's cold face to Aang's wide-eyed and pleading one. She bit her lip.

"Now," the man said, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to arrest you three, by order of King Zian and the Fire Nation. And if either of you take one step astray, this one is going to take an unscheduled trip to the Spirit World."

Katara stared at the steel of the knife, desperately trying to think. She knew that the knife would move faster than her water could reach it, knew that the damage would be irreparable, and knew that she had to protect Aang at any cost.

And she let her water fall to the ground, spreading in a pool around her feet as she offered her wrists out for cuffing. The knife was still held to Aang's throat, and would remain there.

_But what about Zuko_?

Her heart plunged. Zuko's face was ambiguous in the matter, and a dread filled her throat. Had he really turned? This was so similar to the nightmare that had happened down in the caves in Ba Sing Se…_Does his loyalty go that far? He could just strike them down_ _now, he doesn't care about Aang or me, he just cares about revenge on his_…..

Zuko gave Aang a quick look, gathering in his student's predicament. Katara shot him as meaningful a glance as possible, as the firebender managed to lock eyes with her and read something there.

And he too threw down his weapons.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Oh, there we go. Boy, things never work out for these guys: in the show, too. How was that? I was sick today, home from school. And yes, I am crazy with the updating. What can I say? It's fun. I usually write late at night to fit in the time. See you in 27**


	27. Chapter 27

**I'm back…with past 200 reviews! Whee! To address the frequent updates: I go to a school where we are all conditioned to do stuff like this. I have written three page critical essays in 45 minutes. I have friends who can draft, compose and edit a major philosophy thesis paper in one night. They put us into a pressure cooker, and we get used to it. And if it's fun? Forget it. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Disclaimer: I'm not associated with Avatar or Nickelodeon. **

Chapter 27

Needless to say, Sokka was quick to worry about them. He wasn't pacing: Sokka wasn't the pacing type when he was nervous. He preferred to have his footsteps actually take him somewhere. Such as through the city gates.

"We have to go look for them. They've been gone all night," he shouted, gathering up his weapons to go into the city, rather than just sit on his rear in the forest and do nothing.

"I'm with Meathead," Toph added, standing and brushing herself off.

"What could have happened to them? It's past dawn," Iroh commented, looking to the East where the sun had risen some time ago. Toph rubbed her face to get rid of any fatigue that was showing there.

"But what are we going to do with…," Appa finished her thought when he snorted loudly.

Sokka looked at the bison, who eyed him sleepily back.

What to do with the Hairball? It's not like they could just walk him into the city or something. He was an air bison: an extremely rare creature, one that was thought to be extinct, something you didn't see every day.

Then again, what else did people bring into trading ports?

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Sir, how much are you asking for the flying bison?"

"A pound of goal more than you have, mister," Sokka answered as they walked along, Appa flying overhead and drawing many stares. Suki was riding him with Toph, holding the reins tight and calming him under the many gazes. They hadn't met with any trouble so far, but the man seemed to want him badly, though.

"Please! I've always wanted to see one, and he's _magnificent_. I'll give you anything you ask!"

"Sorry, he's not mine to trade. I promised him to a very wealthy associate."

The trader's face fell for a microsecond, until he noticed Momo.

"How about the lemur, then?"

Sokka turned to the animal roosting on his shoulder, hand to chin as though considering it, estimating a price. Momo seemed to notice and grabbed Sokka's warrior wolf tail.

"Ow...no, sorry, no deal." And he scuttled away before any interrogation could begin, following Iroh through the crowd. Where had his sister and Zuko gone? What could have happened to them? And, most importantly, where could he even start looking? Despite his deepest wish not to, he knew Iroh had been correct in stating they should start at the jail.

He had been stupid to let her go into the city by herself, to give her Aang and Zuko as "escorts." If you want something done right, do it yourself. That was another lesson that had been pounded into his head quite enough to get it: so why didn't he remember it? Rrrgh.

He kept pushing after Iroh, looking for any hint, any sign.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Up on Appa, Toph couldn't see the crowd, the city, the landscape. Not much of anything. But she could see Suki's vibrations: they radiated from her as she looked down at Sokka, swift and consistent and glowing with love. It wasn't like Toph could really sense love, but she could read a heartbeat as well, and a person's vibrations were very connected to it.

Suki's heart, beating with a very strong liking for Sokka.

Toph had, she needed to admit, had a spot in her heart for Meathead. A big, secret one, actually. He was just so easy to egg on, to squabble with. He acted so heroic, exuded such confident vibrations, that he was hard not to like, really. And she found it hard to understand exactly why her own heart would pound harder when he was near, when they chanced to touch.

Of course, she could never say anything to him: she wasn't good with sincere words that way, they always frustrated her. He would probably just laugh.

And when she thought it had been _him_ who had come to save her, she seized the opportunity by the throat. But things hadn't gone as expected, and she really had wanted to drown in humiliation afterwards. Because Suki had saved her instead.

On the flip side, Toph hadn't taken too much to Suki at first. Maybe not at all. Why did Meathead sound so happy around her? Why did he want to protect her so badly? And Toph had felt something ugly, mean and nasty begin to creep into her and plot itself there, poking Toph with small pricks about her looks, how different she was, how she was just a silly little blind girl, through the Serpent's Pass, and when those girls laughed at her in Ba Sing Se.

And then Suki had gone and nearly died fighting that crazy girl, but Suki herself had said that a Kyoshi warrior was too stubborn to die; the Fire Nation couldn't kill her that easily. Toph really (though reluctantly) respected that: a good firm stubbornness was what everyone needed if they didn't want to be a jelly boned wimp. And Suki was almost as bad as Sugarqueen with being nice to her…. but it was a different kind of nice. Not the sister-nice, more like Iroh-nice, not underestimating her, respecting her, and not thinking she was defenseless.

So, somewhere along the line, Toph had realized that it was okay if Sokka didn't like her.

Toph, giving up? Even as she thought of it, it had been strange.

But Sokka was happy. And Toph knew that she would never have gotten the gusto to talk to him in anything but blatantly sarcastic tones that she threw around, never getting anywhere and never saying anything worthwhile.

It wasn't like talking to Twinkletoes. Sincerity was easier around him, somehow. She didn't worry about him laughing at her, at all, when she tried to be serious.

She hoped he was okay.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When Sokka saw the man putting up the poster, he had nearly shoved the guy arranging it into the mud. What was this?!? The guy had cursed at Sokka, which warranted a jab in the nose from the Water Tribe warrior as he tried to read the flyer, get the guy outta his way. The man would have started something, had Iroh not shot a secretive little flame onto the guy's pants and given him urgent business to take care of.

Sokka's eyes scanned the poster, scarcely believing what he was reading. _This Zian guy really **is** a whack…_

"Well," he sighed, turning to Iroh as the crowd clustered around him to get a look, "I think I know where they are."

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Katara was very uncomfortable; the chains that bound her were so _tight_. Of course, they had been laid flat by that guy who knew the chi-blocking-whatever-it-was, so she hadn't been able to protest as they coiled her entire body up in locks and metal. Heck, she couldn't take in a full breath, let alone one that would actually freeze something.

But then again, that was probably the point.

Zuko was no better off than she was, wearing a scowl that would have killed a small animal as he sat across from her, and neither was Aang. In fact, Aang had been put into a metal box much like the one she had seen King Bumi in…..

So, of course, being bound up made having a succulent meal placed under your nose even more difficult to resist.

"It's so nice to have company at my morning meal. I do hope you're enjoying it," Zian cackled from the head of the table, biting into a hawk-hen's egg as he did so. The man, she had confirmed, was insane. And not Bumi insane. No, not brilliantly eccentric insane, dangerous insane. How had this guy stayed on a Fire Nation throne? She had asked one of the guards as they were dragged into the hall "by request of the King."

"He hasn't been the same since that fever that struck him last spring," the man had said, more to his friend than to Katara. But she had gotten a little bit of an answer. Sort of.

"So, I was asking around," Zian continued, tipping his glass into his mouth, "and what do you know? I found something!"

Zuko shot a look up the table at the man.

"I realized what a bounty I had just collected. Granted, it interfered slightly with my plans for you, but I'm adaptive. The Avatar, at my table! Oh, and the infamous little Prince Zuko, no less. The things I've heard about you…I heard you were dead, actually."

He turned to the guard posted at the door.

"I think I'll use the bounty money to redecorate the torture chambers, what do you think?"

The guard's brow twitched.

He didn't wait for a response, but got back to his meal.

Zuko had no comment, but returned his gaze to the table in front of him. _What to do? How were they going to get out of this...They? Why was he including those two in his plans?_

"But, moving on, I have something very special to share with you! A rare treat for you to experience, an offer you can't refuse!"

He stood and circled the table slowly.

"You see, today is our city festival to welcome the new season and the approach of the summer solstice. And we have the loveliest tradition! Would you like to hear it?"

"No." Zuko spat, meeting his gaze. Zian clicked his tongue.

"Bad guest, shame on you. Being rude to your host….as I was saying, we always have a wonderful little spectacle to begin the festivities. Gets people talking for weeks on end, I tell you. Best day of the year."

Katara's stomach flipped itself over. What was this twisted man…?

He poured himself another drink and sipped it casually, savoring the taste before explaining.

"The setup is fairly simple: it's just a game, really. Men place their bets accordingly, and we watch it until the end."

"What kind of game?" Aang asked warily, trying to wriggled out or blow a gust of air. He was bound to tightly, this metal was too heavy. If only he could bend with his face….

"A classic! A game of sparrow-cat and bird-mouse, hunter and prey, a fight to the death between opponents I select! Oh, and it will be **so **much more interesting with you two than those soldiers last year: luckily, your little Avatar friend gets front row seats!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sokka looked around in awe at the arena, one similar to where they had met Toph. But bigger. Much much much bigger, with stone tiers piled up upon each other and filling with people as they swarmed in at midday, all clamoring and shouting. The center was made of well-flattened dirt of some kind. What for?

A mixture of red clothing and green, Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, tanned skin, pale skin. Travelers, who he couldn't categorize, even a pair of blue eyes here and there, so many people! He wasn't aware that there were this many people in the world! The building was enormous: how had they done it? Probably with the help of some earthbenders and badger moles, that was for sure.

But Sokka, for once, wasn't really curious to find out.

He passed a group of men who were throwing down sacks of coins into different piles, muttering amongst themselves and rising to incoherent shouts. Where they betting? What was going to happen here? What was going on? All that the flyer had said, which was all he needed to know, was that the festival spectacle would be happening today, with "three unexpected special guests." The flyer had obviously been made just that morning, so Sokka had figured it was their best shot.

But now a pit of dread was firmly settled within his stomach, and he turned to Iroh.

"Is this normal? Do all Fire Nation cities do this?"

"We don't have these kinds of facilities," Iroh shouted over the roar of the crowd, "I've never seen this type of thing before."

"Could ya turn it down a notch?!" Toph screamed as well, almost drowned out. How many people were here? She felt like her ears were bleeding from the abuse: did they have to make so much noise!?!

"Sokka, what's…?"

And then the tumult abruptly ceased, like a pall over the audience. Sokka looked down, and saw a short, stocky man step onto a platform, wearing a lavish gold cloak over one shoulder.

"Hail, citizens!"

He got a response like a thunderclap from the people, who all roared something. Approval? Dislike? It was impossible to tell, all mixed together in a convoluted mass.

The man lowered his hand, and the silence descended yet again, so that this one voice could echo in every unoccupied corner.

"Today we gather to welcome the summer months, and the days of prosperity for our Nation that lie ahead! We gather, at this great event, with hopes of our Fire Lord's success!"

"**Hail Lord Ozai!"** screamed the people, shaking their fists in the air. Even the Earth Kingdom people! It was just too much: Sokka shrunk within himself, realizing just how many enemies they were surrounded by right now, one hand on his boomerang.

"And, for the moment you've been waiting for, my people…. Have you been waiting for it?"

"**YES!"** That one was easy to hear.

"Ah, and this year, we have something _especially_ unique. _Singularly_ fantastic! An once-in-a-lifetime thing! Bring in our guest to watch the show!"

Sokka leaned forward, saw a large metal box being pushed in, lifted onto the platform to rest beside the man. Was that a little bald head sticking out of it?

"I present to you, the last airbender in the entire world, the being vanished for a century, the bridge between the Spirit World and our own…..the Avatar!" Toph gasped, and Sokka's suspicion was confirmed.

Yeah, that was a bald head.

The response was explosive, nearly tearing the roof off of the place, and it took a good ten minutes for everything to quiet down, and Zian continued to speak.

"But as the Avatar is wanted alive by our esteemed lord, he will only join me to enjoy the entertainment!"

A disgusting laugh rippled through the sea of people, and Iroh stiffened. _Wanted alive, not joining in….._

"And so, I instead present to you, today's warriors!"

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

They had been standing behind some kind of wall, still in their chains and shoved into some kind of little waiting room, listening to the King's voice drone on and on: the response that the crowd gave was not encouraging.

"Zuko, what's happening?"

"As if I know, waterbender?" he snapped back.

"I _said _no talking," one of the soldiers who were guarding them snapped, jabbing Katara in the side of the head with the hilt of his sword. She winced, but glared at him.

"Why do you listen to that guy?" she asked suddenly, with said person's voice echoing from behind the stone doors in front of them.

"Because," he replied simply, "he has supporters. And there is only one punishment under our Fire Lord for betrayal."

Zuko knew it, remembering his father's advice on traitors once again.

Before Katara could ask any farther, there was the biggest cheer they had heard yet, and the doors where flung open, and the firebender and the waterbender where pushed out into the light, as the soldiers quickly unlocked their chains and fled back thorough the door. Why where they in such a hurry? Katara suddenly felt sick.

Somewhere high up in the seats, a small band of travelers cried out, but it was not in amusement or anticipation.

Katara had never seen so many people in her life: even the strange area they were standing on was huge, the tiers towering above them in a circle and looking down. Oh no…she scanned the crowd: so many people, no friendly faces anywhere. And there was Aang! Safe for now, but imprisoned next to the madman, who began to present them with flourishing gestures.

"I give you: our two challengers for today, against our ten-year champion…"

_Ten year? The last guy had been nuts too?... Ten year?! What kind of warrior...?!_

"I first present to you Miss Katara, a waterbender from the South Pole. You may recognize her from the fugitive posters, and what a fine waterbender they promise her to be... Isn't she pretty, now? I didn't know they made peasants who didn't look like brutes."

A series of unpleasant calls rained down on her, but Katara kept her glare fixed. Zian smiled, and said, a bit softer, "Such a waste."

The men nearer to him laughed.

"And, ( and I am _thrilled _to present this one, my good people) I must introduce you to the exiled eldest son of our Fire Lord, Prince Zuko!"

A gasp, then jeers, rang up from the crowd, and Zian fueled the flame.

"And yes, to those of you who can't see it! He does, indeed, bear the scar of his shame and rebellion, the mark his own father branded upon him! What a sorrowful excuse for a son he must have been, I ask?"

_That cut too deep,_ Katara thought. _Too deep._ And she seized Zuko by the wrist (not daring to take his hand) and spoke into his ear, "They're nothing. You're better than all of them."

"I know that," he growled back. But his voice cracked hoarsely and betrayed him. Zian continued, and Katara dearly wished she had an ice dagger to stab him in the throat and silence that grating voice.

"Oh, but enough of this! On with the show….. But before we do, I must call your attention to the basins of water stationed around the arena for Miss Katara's use: I am, after all, a man who likes a fair fight."

Katara noticed, and counted them. There were ten. Ten places to draw her power from.

"And, my good people, I want you to welcome our champion!"

It was as if the stands where on fire, the screams were so loud and long, as two soldiers sprinted across to the massive doors opposite Katara and Zuko, and swung them open.

"**Let it begin!!!!"**Zian roared.

And it was followed by another kind of roar, a guttural, agonizing, bestial one from a cavernous chest. A long tail lashed in the dark shadows of the gaping doorway, a few chains rattled, and their opponent stepped out into the light, raised it's head, scaly armor glinting like it's hide was peppered in black diamonds.

Zuko looked at it, and golden eyes met golden eyes as Katara gasped, her eyes taking in the sight.

"Well. How about that. A dragon," Zuko said to no one in particular.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

**A/N: Yeah, I dunno. But Avatar Roku had a dragon, so I thought that maybe there're a few of them hiding out in the mountains or something. Ultimately, I did this because this next scene is going to be awesome to write. And don't "worry"( I can't imagine this fic causing anybody anxiety), they'll be able to carry out their plan. Expect a secondary character cameo in the next chapter as well.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. I'm probably shooting for closer to forty chapters, actually, as this fic is playing out. Whatever.**

Chapter 28

Sokka considered himself a reasonable person, a formidable man who would not sit idly while the action went on before him, ability with the will to act.

But even in consideration of those traits, he couldn't help but allow himself one brief window in time to stare in utter awe and amazement.

The dragon, long, sinewy and coiled, wavered its way slowly into the arena, trying to shake free the membranous wings that had been bound down, and talons like silver spikes tapping the ground pensively. It wasn't as enormous as he'd heard dragons could be, Sokka supposed, maybe a bit bigger than Appa in height and body length, if you didn't count the tail or neck: but certainly big enough.

A dragon. A real dragon.

_Come on! Do something_!!! His brain screamed at him, which dragged him out of his stupor and back into the arena, with Iroh standing by him and trying to shout over the chaos.

"We have to get down there!" Sokka cried.

"No, really?" Suki asked, voice latent with sarcasm as she turned to go back to the stairs they had used before.

"What is that thing?" Toph muttered, unheard, as she pressed her foot down and listened. Its steps reverberated throughout the entire building, each one shaking her ribcage as the massive footfalls struck.

Looking back to see that the earthbender was still there, Suki reached out and snatched her.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

There may have come a moment or two when Katara thought her heart completely froze, a beat hovering as the dragon filled its chest and let out an explosive roar that was a mixture of a wolf's thunderous bay and a moose-lion's savage snarl, hitting them both with a slug of very hot air.

And the dragon moved inwards.

She looked over at Zuko, whose whole body had gone tense, slightly crouched, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind simultaneously. And for the briefest moment, she realized that Zian had, moments before, answered the question that she had asked Iroh once.

So it was his father that had given him that scar

But there was no time for comfort now, as they both stood before the dragon and Katara looked up into the slanted golden eyes. She didn't see bestial instinct and stupidity: this thing was sizing them up, planning the way to kill them which would take the longest, how to play with them first….

And it lunged its head forward, shooting the long serpentine neck out with jaws wide.

Katara dodged right while Zuko twisted left, effectively separating them from each other as the dragon reared, considered, drew in a breath of air as if it where smelling something.

And it turned on Zuko, a storm of dust as the tail launched it forward with claws extended.

Zuko dove through the dirt, rolling himself under the armored stomach, searching for a weakness, any weakness….and then his eyes were exposed to the light again as the dragon pulled back on its powerful hind legs and crashed down upon him. Zuko watched the flash of black fall, the scales catching the light, clenched his eyes shut…

Two dull _'thunks'_, and he found himself pinned between the claws with the dragon's maw over him. He drew in a staggered breath, crushed under the massive weight and digging deep into his energy for fire, any fire, to repulse the death so close….

**WHAM!!!**

And the claws came free as the dragon was pummeled from the side by a huge fist of water, a long jet of it that yanked back and pushed the serpent yet again, forcing it to sidestep and giving Zuko a way out. He took it.

"C'mere you ugly brute! _Come and get me_!" Her cry was thunderous itself; nearly matching the dragon's in intensity as she stood there, one hand still forward.

Katara stepped back quickly, swinging her body and the massive whip of water overhead, and a flick of her wrist brought it upon the dragon's spine, forcing it downwards for the few moments Zuko needed.

The dragon threw off the weight a moment later and charged, bringing its own scaly whip of a tail lashing forward. Katara turned a wall of water around her body in time to lessen the blow, but not to block it fully. She was knocked off her feet, flying backwards and sliding through the dirt, which was now mud, to rest a few feet away, getting her limbs under her and shaking off the blow.

The crowd gave a sort of impressed cooing at that, as the waterbender tried to draw in a few breaths. Curses, it had knocked the wind clean out of her.

She looked up at the dragon as it advanced on her, stomach pressed low now, having learned from Zuko already and keeping its vulnerable spots shielded, claw over claw. Katara extended her arm to the nearest basin, calling the water to her with a desperate urgency, when the dragon's chest heaved.

Up and down, a rasping noise, like it was going to vomit, or….

_Oh no._

And the water exploded from the basin, soaring through the air and flashing in the light, racing towards her….

But not fast enough.

With one last heave, the dragon's lungs were filled, and through its fangs came a long jet of white hot flame that rushed to her, in a contest with the water as to who would reach her first.

Both lost.

A powerful grip seized her by the shoulders and yanked her around, "Cover me, waterbender!"

And Zuko shoved both arms forward into the oncoming inferno, spreading and parting it as the heat flowed around them, the two warriors back to back. The flame dissipated, and the dragon took in another breath.

"Your turn!"

And they switched in one pivoting motion, as Katara seized her water and spread it in a vertical whirlpool in the air, pulling the next stream of fire into it and eating it up.

She ran to the side as the dragon's claw shot out, screaming past her by a few inches, Zuko a few steps ahead of her.

_Bamf! Bamf! Bamf!_ Bursts of fire charred the wall just behind them as they circled around, the dragon bounding and shifting its weight flawlessly as it pursued them, galloping forward and lunging to land it their path…..

"Zuko, duck down! NOW!!!!"

He obliged, and heard a cracking and stiffening noise as a crescent of ice appeared over his head, a bridge as the girl propelled herself up it and pulled her water along. She flipped over in mid-flight and brought the torrent of water with her, glancing the dragon in the face with the motion.

In response, the dragon threw out a heavy- plated hand that swiped her aside again, hooked her under her torn shirt. And Zuko saw the muscles tense underneath its glinting black hide, the muscles as it flexed one dexterous arm, prepared for a swift flicking motion as it opened its jaws.

It was going to flip the girl into its mouth.

Katara was too horrified to scream now, caught in an iron grip that squeezed her lungs and crushed her ribs. Luckily, her brain didn't stop working along with her vocal cords. Snaps of light flaring in her vision as her body screamed for air, she pulled a sliver of water to her, froze it into a sharp needle, drove it under the scales of the dragon's claw. With a splitting roar, it released her.

The crowd roared as well. In delight or disappointment, she could not tell.

The dragon made a twitch to move……

Two bursts of blaze materialized in Zuko's hands, and he whipped his arms overhead, pushing the flame outwards until he held two long vines of fire….and brought both forward in a single, smooth strike with his entire body behind it, SNAP!

Sparks dusted the air as the fire whips made contact with the metallic neck, lashed around it twice, and he pulled. With every scrap of power in him, he pulled the dragon towards him again, and the jerk backwards forced the beast's attention away from the girl, to face him instead.

Another rush of fire, roasting the air just above him, a quicker blow that he leapt out of the way of. He twisted over a third, making a complete turn in the air before crashing down unsteadily onto his feet.

But the dragon had turned gracefully with him, amazing speed for something so massive, with a poise and precision that he had seen before: in a much smaller, amber eyed and equally deadly vessel.

The eyes fixed on him, and the tapered tail swung through the air, cracking it. _Fwack!_

The tail, an extension of its weight…..

Is that how its keeping balanced so well?

He had no time to think, and instead felt a pulse of heat flow thorough him. His muscles spasmed with the effort as he hurled a storm of fire out from his center.

The dragon batted it away as if it were a bothersome insect and came forward, head speeding a few inches from the ground. Its prey was trapped up against the high stone wall; it could hear his pulse hammering in fear and dread.

Delicious fear, soothing dread. So lovely.

Zuko considered for only the briefest moment, and pushed off against the arena wall, springing forward through the air, praying to Agni that the neck wasn't as flexible as it looked.

His feet landed hard upon the spiked spine, stumbled over the black ridges as he half-ran down the back of the dragon after leaping clean over the head. The long neck arched back again, its knife-like teeth clamping shut over the spot the boy had been moments before.

He flew off, and caught a stunning blow to the back of his head from the heavy tail, one of its razor sharp spikes cutting a good gash in him as he fell forward. Blood on his hand as he reached back to it.

_Getupgetupgetup!!_

"Zuko! Zuko, here!"

When he had gotten his feet back under him, he sprinted forwards with his footfalls hardly touching the ground, to rejoin the water girl in the center of the ring.

"Stay close for a second! I'll tell you when to go!"

And wonder of wonders, he listened.

Katara bent her knees ever so slightly, steadied herself. The dragon was hanging back this time, tail swinging slowly back and forth, waiting for her to make the first move now.

She drew a breath, fixed her focus where it needed to be, still and frozen for just a heartbeat where the world stopped.

And she threw both arms over her head as though trying to pierce the sky.

_FWOOSH!!!!_

A series of bursts, as the water in all of the remaining basins came flying upwards, shattering their containers into a million pieces, all snaking forward to join together in a dance above the arena, the waterbender spinning them while she wove her torso and arms in a circular motion, as though twirling a hoop between her arms, _faster, faster, faster…._

And she brought both arms down again with a crash that followed, the water continuing in its mad waltz, but dropping and circling around them both now, Zuko and Katara, at the center of the twisting wave.

She jerked her right arm up, pulled her hand back to near her ear, and shot it straight forward

A long stream of water obeyed, which split into two, which became three, then four…and her other arm did the same, until eight tentacles of water wavered like swaying snakes.

Another blast of fire, this time catching their cloths and burning the skin beneath it faintly.

Katara jerked in pain, but knew she had more important things to do.

And she struck.

_Fwack! Thwap!_ The whip lashes continued under the dragon's feet, one slicing through the breastplate of the monster as she grunted with effort, trying to maintain the perfect sync that the octopus required, pushing every last corner of her heart outwards and into those blows.

The dragon gave a throaty wail as the next water whip struck a long slash across its face, making it stumble.

"Go, Zuko!"

He leapt from her side, his feet and heart both racing as he felt the burst of heat spread from his stomach, up into his arm, circling and building upon itself…._now, while its distracted!_

DO IT!

But the dragon, jaw now dripping in its own blood, saw it coming, turned from the waterbender, drew a gasp into it's lungs and blew a huge river of fire out at him as Zuko pushed his own flame outwards

The two blazes met like a massive star exploding, a flaming comet of power burst free of them both, deadly and racing, burning and causing all present to shield their eyes for a few brief moments.

Stalemated, for those seconds.

Zuko felt the oppressive heat, the fatigue combating in his lungs, the massive wall he was holding back. But he was not planning on losing.

Not now.

With a wordless roar, Zuko gave one last shove….and it hammered back the blaze, overcoming the dragon's own flame, and the blow struck it

The dragon gave its loudest roar yet as the flames fanned out over its broad chest, head rearing back and blasting a wild shot of pain upwards. The shot burst like a firecracker and hailed down upon the gaping audience.

Some didn't notice: they were too deep into a state of shock.

Still roaring and clawing at the raw red which Zuko had just burned, the dragon staggered a few paces, its tail making it stumble…..

And the eyes snapped open yet again, but misted over by agony, their owner striking blindly the first thing that it could reach.

That person happened to be the waterbender, who saw the silver spikes break through the shield of ice she threw upwards and froze, shattering it like a glass pane, the end of the talon hooking into her.

No more than a graze from the sword-edge sharp claw, and it drew a long cut across her stomach, not too deep. But it still hurt as the coldness opened her. She lost her focus.

The water dropped except for the small amount she held as she fell to her knees, pressing the water in yet again, trying not to gag at the pain.

A tree-trunk thick arm drove to the ground next to her, and she dragged her gaze up to meet the dragon's yet again.

"Are you going to kill me now?" she asked wryly, feeling the warmth of her blood cease it's new flow as she began to close the wound.

And Zuko watched the dragon draw back a claw over its shoulder, to pulverize every bone in the girl's body into dust.

He was back on the ship, in his mind, back at that first city, Geming.

The strange feeling of guilt at letting one of those peasants die.

The feeling had returned, but it was not so much of a mystery as before.

The claws caught the light.

And a strange, totally foreign and awkward sound ripped its way through Zuko's throat, laced around a roar.

"KATARA!"

He made to move forward and heard something cut the air behind him, sounded like steel….and a sword landed in the dust by his feet, directly followed by another one, this one's point plowing into the ground.

Meanwhile, the waterbender decided she needed the water elsewhere as knives came down at her, pulling it all in around her and hurling it directly upwards, blindly hoping this would work.

Zuko stared at the steel there in the dirt for a second.

"**Go, you idiot!!!"** came one singular voice. Meathead.

The Fire Prince seized both blades, flipping one over into his other hand, darting forward as the girl rammed a blow of water under the dragon's jaw. And it reared.

He brought the sword aloft, sliding now under the exposed stomach, landing a long cut that did not do more than pierce the first layer of scales, but it hurt the dragon enough to deter it's actions as it fell onto it's back, whole body arched.

Zuko twisted and sliced a deep gash into the dragon's hind leg, a misting of blood spattering onto the dirt.

Katara pulled to her feet, the sound of her name coming from such an unlikely source still hard to absorb as she came hurriedly forwards, a thin, graceful whip of the water lashing the dragon down, holding it, holding it in place. _Swoosh!_ Another one, binding and freezing its tail, the dragon that was now as tired as they were. One more to freeze the other leg, using up all of the water she had available, trapping it.

As it was pinned in place, Zuko raised the sword overhead to plunge it into the creature's eye and end this.

But then he looked at it.

The eyes were not imploring or pleading, certainly, as it was sprawled before him with one leg bleeding, but glinting gold, accepting of its defeat.

At his mercy, and he the cruel hand about to strike it down.

_Please, father……._

Zuko tried to force the ridiculous notion out of his head, but it came back just as quickly, that maybe somewhere within him he was exactly like Ozai.

It was so strange how the idea suddenly disgusted him.

And the black dragon, this magnificent warrior, kept its eyes locked with his. Zuko broke the stare first to glance over at Katara, who was quaking with the effort of pinning the dragon down now, and then his gaze traveled to the leather straps across the dragon's back that held its wings in place.

Looked up at the crowds: all they wanted was bloodshed. Why satisfy them?

_How long has it been?_ he wondered. _I wonder if it still can…._

Curiosity piqued, he took a few careful steps that circled him to the beast's side, the waterbender's eyes following him the whole way, and a light turned on behind them as he positioned himself. A secret smile on her face, and she made the slightest move to pull her left arm back.

The crowd was dead quiet. Not a sigh nor a breath, and all waited, the only sound the gusts of the dragon's breathing.

Zuko nodded curtly.

Katara smiled broader.

_Ripppp!!!!!_

There was the sound of heavy leather being torn through, the fibers of the heavy straps falling before a water whip and a flaming sword, deflected harmlessly off the dragon's scales.

And it realized very quickly what had occurred.

There was a huge sound like a banner snapping taught in a strong wind, like an ocean wave crashing, a rush of air that knocked them both down as the dragon's iridescent, powerful wings rushed open, wide as the arena, basking in their own glory.

Coiling, it crouched down and tensed itself. And then, in a storm of wind and dust, it rocketed upwards, wings propelling it as gusts of fire trailed from its nose, up over the crowds who cried out, like a black missile. The people screamed, but the dragon paid them no mind.

It hunched its head slightly, huge shoulders bracing for the blow they were about to take.

As if a roof was going to stop it.

In an explosion of stone, ceiling, dust and rubble, there was an almighty CRASH that shook the building to its foundation, as the dragon burst through the barrier and into the heavens with one last twist of its tail.

There was a triumphant, war-cry driven, ear splitting roar that rattled the hearts of all those present, one that carried and echoed until it shrank away, resounding as the dragon shot upwards in its ascent.

Free, free, free.

Katara and Zuko dodged the debris as it hurtled down, both shuffling close to keep each other from collapsing completely.

And after the last of the rubble came tumbling, the two new champions now bathed in the sunlight that streamed through the exit the dragon had made, they realized that it was quiet once again, everyone struck dumb by what they had just seen.

It didn't last too long, as the ripples started.

"Did you see that? That burst of flame?"

"The whips, the fire whips…."

"Sparing the defeated? Has that ever happened…?"

"The swords! Where did they come…?"

All the voices buzzing now, with the two exhausted benders slumping slightly as Zuko scanned the crowd for the one who had thrown him the blades when he most needed them.

That was, until, a cry set up from high in the stands, which grew and spread out like wildfire until the chant was at the very pulse of the people.

"HAIL PRINCE ZUKO!! HAIL!"

It carried in a mad dance around the arena until it was deafening, as every voice present shouted and roared, stomping their feet as one, bringing down what was left of the roof.

"What are they doing?" he asked Katara in a parched voice.

"I believe you've won your subjects over, your highness," she said back, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"LADY KATARA!" And there was her own name, added to the shouts, carrying through like tides.

She looked over at Zuko, incredulous herself at what they had just done: as a team, no less.

When did Zuko get to be such a powerful bender?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

There are few things as distracting as a death match between two of the greatest benders you have ever seen and a huge, armored monster that had devoured every other opponent ever set before it. Seeing it crash through the roof, and watching as the crowd slipped out of your grasp.

All very distracting.

Which was why Zian was so utterly shocked when he turned to his left, to see the metal box where the Avatar had been snugly imprisoned.

It looked like a scroll that had been shredded to pieces, the airbender obviously no longer in it.

(Shredded, by a pair of little, rough-fingered, earthbender's hands, to be exact.)

Right from under his nose! He couldn't believe it!

He tried to scream at the guard below him in the stands as the ruckus rose to a new level, pointing frantically at the ruined prison, and the guard's eyes widened. He turned, reluctant to leave the scene, turned to exit down the stairway that went down from the platform.

There were several guards sprawled there, charred in places, bruised, mumbling as they regained consciousness.

"_**What in Agni's name happened**?!"_ the guard hollered, smacking one of his comrades to attention.

"Firebender….boomerang…" the man moaned, staggering to his feet. "Did those two kids get eaten yet?"

"Not quite."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The guards came to drag them out, locking the chains around their hands once more. Katara desperately wanted to hit one of them, knock them down and escape. But her whole body felt like stone, the energy gone from her limbs, the cut only half -healed over her torso. This seemed to be happening to her a lot.

There was a chorus of booing as they were escorted roughly out, with swords pressed against their backs, taking a longer way to exhibit the burned and beat-up pair to the masses.

But then a familiar voice called over to her.

"Katara! Katara!"

Yes, there he was! She found enough strength to break free and run over to the wall, Sokka fighting the people who wanted a good look at her.

"Sokka, go save Aang!"

"Taken care of! I'll get you out of here!" A hand shoved him aside, and he pushed back, causing several people to fall down as a result. Katara shook her head frantically as the guard grabbed her, trying to drag her feet.

"No! Do what we planned! I can handle myself!"

_As if I'd let you!_ He thought, trying to keep pace with them as they went towards the doors to take them back to the dungeons.

"You have to do this! Don't worry!" she continued.

He needed to do this, it was true. This was the world at stake here. But this was also his baby sister.

"One day!" he bellowed over to her receding figure. "I'll give you one day!"

Katara turned, blue eyes meeting blue eyes, and she nodded.

And it was the hardest thing he had ever had to do, to watch her go before hurrying away.

He had things that needed blowing up.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Well, how was that? Hope you liked. See you in Chapter 29. I know I promised a cameo, but that'll have to be next chapter. The fight just took up so much space, and I thought I should end this here. Bye!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Here we go! Chapter 29. Thank you all for the reviews from 28 and 27. It's so great to get this kind of response…Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or the idea for Avatar. At all. Sad, isn't it?**

Chapter 29

All legends are born very quickly: it may take years to become widespread, years of storytellers adding their own flourishes and details to the tale, but when something is destined to become a legend, everyone knows it outright.

So it was with the fight between the benders and the dragon: the city was ablaze with talk about it, in whispered tones or shouting ones, all with wide eyes as they remembered the spectacle, husbands, wives, children, friends.

Those two, that prince and the girl. How had his father ever thought of him as spineless? And the mercy he had shown the dragon, surely that was a welcome trait in any ruler. As for the water girl, how could the Water Tribe people be called primitive cowards, when she had fought back alongside the boy? Talk, talk, talk.

Sokka listened to it as he snuck through the streets with the old firebender guy, Aang and Toph close behind while Suki rode on Appa high overhead, awaiting a signal to descend. Aang was putting up a fight.

"We can't just leave them! Sokka, how could you do that?!"

Sokka tried to reason it out with himself. It didn't work, so he would try to make something up.

"Katara and Hothead are going to meet up with us in a day; she wanted to give us time to finish our plan. I think she wants to get rid of that psycho herself." Okay, maybe that was all the truth. And with all the supervisors for the mines celebrating the festival, maybe the slaves would be gone too; this really was their only opportunity. But Aang kept objecting.

"But…!"

"Twinkletoes, calm down. I think we understand that Sugarqueen knows what she's doing: besides, we'll go in after her in a few more hours anyway."

Nothing would ever happen to Sugarqueen, Toph assured herself forcefully.

Because a world without Sugarqueen, Meathead, and Twinkletoes was unimaginable, to put it briefly.

"Okay," Sokka whispered hoarsely, seizing a random, flowery hat off a stand and shoving it down on Aang's smooth head, "you guys stay out of sight. Mr. Iroh and I'll go in and try to get some maps of the mines, okay?"

The general laughed. _Mr_. Iroh.

Their footsteps clacked away.

Toph snorted, annoyed at being left behind, and stopped Aang from pulling the big feathers off of his hat. She couldn't see them, of course, but she was sure it looked hilarious.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

As for the two "legends," they were exactly as the guards had left them hours ago, facing each other with their backs to opposite walls, barely twitching in the semi-dark.

Katara wondered idly how long it would take for her energy to return, wondered how much strength she could muster to heal that annoyingly painful wound across her, and she let go of a huge, shaking sigh, followed by an unsteady laugh.

A pair of golden eyes flashed in her direction through the darkness. Like the dragon's eyes, fierce, strong and defiant. Unlike the dragon's, curious and merciful, although she would rather die than admit it to the firebender.

"Is something _amusing_, waterbender?"

She let her laughter subside to a chuckle before answering. Amusing? Maybe not, but she had no idea how else to react.

"That….that… was the most insane, dangerous, and entertaining thing I've ever done….. Wow, and I used to think you and Azula where frightening."

"Did you," he muttered, oddly clutching the back off his head and bowing it down slightly.

She nodded. He really had scared her, the first time she had seen him step from that hulking, lumbering ship that brought back such memories and come down the ramp, a predator evaluating his prey. Seen the fire pouring from his hands. The times she had fought him, she had been scared witless. And the first time she saw that brutal scar on his face.

That scar.

Pursing her lips, she leaned forward, squinting, realized that a crimson stain soiled Zuko's pale hands where they had been clutching his head, and she dragged herself forwards.

"You should let me heal that," she proposed lightly, drawing water out of her soaked clothes and making it twirl in her hands lazily. Did she have enough energy? Katara frowned. She hated herself for thinking it. Someone was in pain. The question was: did it matter if she thought she had the strength or not? No.

"It's fine," he spoke softly through gritted teeth, a clear lie that even her tired brain caught.

So he was being stubborn. A lot like Sokka could be, trying to "be a man" and tough things out…but she always won Sokka over in the end. And although both young men would sooner throw themselves to a platypus bear than acknowledge so, they were frighteningly similar. Annoyingly proud.

"You know," she spoke up, "it would be really _really_ stupid to survive a dragon trying to eat you, and then bleed to death from a simple injury."

She let that sink in to his features as he considered, gaze never averting from hers as the two wills struck against each other.

The wound spiked in pain, and he bowed his head lower, exposing it to her.

_That was easier than I thought it was going to be_, she contemplated, amused as she crawled forward, lifted to her knees, and pressed her hand over the bloody gash. Katara closed her eyes, tiredly seeking out the damage, pulling things back together and pushing back the pain as she pressed the cool water against Zuko's burning neck.

It reminded her of the Crystal Caves somewhat.

And now, she wished that she had healed that scar, that manifestation of some hurt dug into him: she saw it now, as clearly as if it was a blade in his heart. It was deep, woven in, barbed and stubborn.

But, if she had learned anything from Toph, it was that your opponents are only as stubborn as you are not.

"Zuko?"

"Hmm," he mumbled in reply, sounding on the verge of sleep as she finished her work and pulled her hand away. She hesitated, but was emboldened by the thought of Toph, her recent victory, and her numbing fatigue.

And Iroh's words, that wet, cold morning, returned to her now. That he would tell her about it "_when he's ready_." She had watched Zuko, in his manner and the way he observed their group, the tentative way he joined them every night for dinner as though he feared they would tell him he wasn't welcome.

How he taught Aang, scarce in the positive reinforcement: but when he gave it, it meant something. He was someone, overall, of few and valuable words. She studied it all, and took notes. He and Sokka, while certainly not "buddies," were working on it... slowly. And he had cast away some of his pride to aid them, humbled himself enough to accept her help in the fight and just now.

Was he ready? One way to find out.

"Your scar…I was wondering…."

"I believe _Zian_ has said enough in the matter." He cut her off with an angry, steely ring in his voice. Katara nodded slightly and folded her hands. Maybe not.

"Yes, I remember. I wanted to have the story from a better source."

The remark hung in the cool air between them.

Zuko cocked his head and regarded her, searching those eyes for any malicious motives for her prodding. There had to be one, no other reason at all.

"Why do you care?"

It was in a scathing tone, an angry and fiery one that Katara felt cut into her just a bit as he struck away her attempt. Hadn't she saved his life? Hadn't he figured out by now that they were, the whole group, a family? As awkward a member of it as Zuko was, she had come to accept him along the line, with the grudging thought that maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

She remembered seeing a strange flower once, in a spot they had camped. A huge, dark, red bloom that was amazing at a distance, petals wide and deep. But when she had reached out to touch it, the plant had snapped closed, as though recoiling, and it was only when she withdrew her curious hand that it opened. Just like now, although Zuko was far from flowery.

And it occurred to her that he probably had very little idea what family _was_, sired by an evil Fire Lord, brother to a power-hungry witch, his mother taken from him. He had no idea what it was like to have your sibling save you from the grasp of an angry pike fish, to have your Dad tickle your feet until you nearly died laughing, to carry something of your mother's to remember her.

She finally answered, carefully.

"Because it's my job, if you haven't noticed. Everyone has one in our little family."

Zuko let the words bounce around his head.

Family. Our family, himself included.

He didn't want that, did he?

And yet, for the first time, the account of his downfall grew tired of being locked away, its weight suddenly more oppressive. And all burdens are lighter when shared, as Sokka had learned with the story of Yue.

He drew a breath. She held her own.

And he told her.

All of it was laid down, his speaking out against the general, his Agni Kai and banishment, his hunt for the Avatar, Azula being sent to chase him down, on until his story returned him to this cell in which they sat, never looking up at the waterbender as he spoke, levelly but carefully, until it grew very quiet.

And he gazed up at her, finally.

What he feared most was her reaction, because he thought he knew what it would be, with her caring and mothering nature. She would whisper an apology, offer her sympathies, try and speak soothing words, maybe even try to embrace him, of all things.

That would have killed him. Really, it would.

It would have confirmed the suspicions that had kept him awake at night for two years, which stabbed at him with every failure he took. Suspicions that he was pathetic, an outcast who could inspire only tears and sentiment, nothing more than an exiled prince who deserved every bit of hate his father felt for him, hate for being so weak.

But he met her gaze anyway, and got a surprise.

Her eyes were not teary, her mouth not quivering. The eyes where hard, a swirl of emotions, the jaw tensed. Was it in anger? He didn't know, but what she said next shocked him, Katara could tell.

"You're a liar, Zuko."

She watched the incredulity, the anger, and the pain all flood his features, until he managed to articulate a raspy **_"What?"_**

"A liar. Down in the caves, you called it your "mark of the banished prince." Your emblem of shame, a symbol of lost honor."

He winced inwardly as she drove the invisible sword farther in, but froze with what she said next.

"And I say that's a lie. It's a mark _of_ honor. A mark of bravery."

He didn't speak, so she kept going, grasping her hands around this memory that so polluted his spirit in order to extract it. If anyone was going to do this, it would have to be her, she figured.

"You have it because you stood up for what was right, by defending those soldiers. You have it because you were a better man than your father, by turning your cheek and refusing to fight. _That_ takes more courage, a lot of the time."

She remembered what Sokka had said, long ago at the North Pole.

"My brother said that if there's one thing we know about you, it's that you never give up: and he was right. In all your time chasing the Avatar (no matter _how_ I feel about you doing _that_) you never did. That scar's a reminder of the fact that you're someone who keeps going. Even when it's hard."

Those words struck something in him, she could see it. Something deep and hidden.

His mother…

_That's who you are, Zuko._

_Never forget…._

Katara swallowed, hoping he wasn't going to kill her. But this had to be said.

"And I'm sorry for what you've endured, but you should know that the most important kind of honor isn't really something that you can have taken from you. And we, certainly your uncle, for what it's worth, don't think you're a failure. A lot of things, but not a failure."

And she rested her head back against the wall and said no more, pressing her water to her own wounds and humming under her breath.

_A mark of honor._

And without a sound, without anything to mark its occurrence, without Zuko really realizing it, the pain and shame came out from him, the inner turmoil suddenly untangling a bit. It was cast away, trying to resist in the strong grip of the water girl and failing. It had dug deep; it left a raw spot, a massive wound in his spirit. But wounds could be healed.

And maybe, a slight bit, he got a taste of what the dragon had felt as it's wings flew outward, trapped for so long, suddenly free.

"Well, I'm feeling better," came her voice. "What do you say we break out of here?"

He nodded immediately.

But then a voice came to them through the bars of the door.

"That won't be necessary."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sokka kept his gaze locked with the little statue, suspicious as he brushed the dust from its shoulders and sneezed. The figure was of a monkey: the big ears kind of reminded him of Aang's. It had bright pinpoint rubies for eyes, swirling dark red that shimmered in the light. Staring him down, a silly, gap-toothed grin on its face.

It really irritated him, for some reason.

"Like it?" Iroh's voice asked over his shoulders, clasping the map he intended to buy once he got the shopkeeper's attention.

"No. It's creepy."

He laughed. "It's a guardian statue. People put them near the doorways of their houses to keep away thieves: supposedly, anyone who looks in its eyes long enough goes stark raving mad."

"Are you serious?" Sokka said, immediately averting his eyes.

"Completely," Iroh replied deadpan, having long mastered the performing arts along with firebending. The Water Tribe boy shuddered and followed him to the front of the shop. The owner, a slip of a man somewhere in his fifties, turned to them.

"Yeah?"

"How much are you asking for this map?"

"Which 'un?" he snatched and unrolled it. "The mines? Whaddaya want it for?"

"Excavating." In a way, Iroh supposed that was truth. Partially.

The man snorted, examined the quality of the parchment. "Twenty silver pieces."

Iroh laughed uproariously. "Good joke, friend! Back to business, really, how much will you accept?"

"I believe I stated myself clearly the first time," he sniffed arrogantly.

Iroh huffed. "Now, that's a bit high, considering the condition its in."

"Take it or leave it! Or you can just plain l_eave_…then I can finally close up shop."

"Oh, you weren't at the performance today?" The sun had already begun to sink, washing the streets with an orange light. Iroh raised an eyebrow as the man grunted in frustration.

"No! I never get to go! And I heard that it was…"

"Stupendous," Sokka finished for him with an elaborate tone.

"Magnificent," Iroh continued, grinning at Sokka in a way that reminded him of the monkey statue.

"Mind-blowing. Incredible."

"Alright, alright, enough already. Now get out of here!"

"Oh, don't you want to hear what happened?"

The shopkeeper glared at them both, grumbling and debating an answer. Then he nodded.

"Well, then, you're talking to the right people! I myself happen to be an expert in combat techniques; can give you a play by play of it. On one condition…"

_You sneaky scammer_, Sokka thought in admiration. He liked this guy more and more as he got to know him.

"…that I get that map for ten silver pieces. Sound fair?"

The man nodded without even thinking and leaned forward on his broom in anticipation.

So Iroh and Sokka were able to walk out with map in hand and smiles on their faces, having made the tale about ten times more dramatic in its retelling, until it sounded like it was an apocalyptic showdown between an invincible killing machine, a god of fire and a goddess of water.

Something to talk about, really.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So, Aang, how long did that guy have you for?"

Toph heard a group of people walk by the stoop they were sitting in, carrying paper of some kind, shuffling it around. Aang was able to see that they were lanterns, as the sun sunk even lower, and he pulled the decadent hat down.

Where were Sokka and Iroh? That was the last thing they needed, to lose someone else in this stupid city. He didn't care what Toph's opinion of Ba Sing Se was: Katsu was, by far, the worst… city…. _ever. _

"Oh, a few hours I guess. We were in a cell, and then he gave us breakfast."

"Breakfast?"

"Well, he sorta ate while we were chained up at the table."

"Ah hah."

Aang sighed, and Toph could tell he was worried again. It made sense, she supposed, although Aang was normally a carefree kind of person.

"Hope they're alright."

Toph sighed. Was it in exasperation?

Hadn't she been concerned for his safety? Aang wondered. Didn't she understand that that was, well, what families _do_ for each other? Caring and concern were just linked that way.

Before Toph could say anything, she heard the familiar pair of vibrations fast approaching, abnormally fast and high with excitement, and she turned to face the two.

"Alright," Sokka sighed, waving the map around and opening it, "the sun's almost down. Let's make this quick so we can get out of this loony bin."

"Agreed," Toph and Aang said in unison.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko had to stare for a few seconds before he could believe who he was looking at through the bars, as a pair of armored hands pushed food through to them, a set of keys jangling on the left wrist. It couldn't be….

Katara observed the man's features while receiving what he offered them. Older, hair a silvery tone in a short cut, a strong, square jaw with boxy shoulders. He looked like a commanding type.

"Good to see you again, Prince Zuko," the man smiled thinly.

Zuko found his voice.

"Lieutenant Jee?" Zuko needed to ask, leaning forward as the water girl devoured the bread as politely as possible.

The former crew member continued to smile, but it broadened.

"Decided to help you out, Prince Zuko. I have no idea what Zian's plans are for you, but I can assure you that they won't be pleasant…"

"No kidding," Katara grumbled, handing the rest of the food to Zuko. This guy, Lieutenant Jee, kept talking in a hushed whisper as he jammed the key into the locks on the cell door.

"I couldn't believe it, when I ended up here. Made me wish I had stayed aboard your ship, actually."

"I'm honored," Zuko replied. Was that sarcasm? Katara balked. Sarcasm from _Zuko_? Spirits, Sokka was having more of an effect on Zuko than he knew, she thought.

"Glad. And I must say, boy, that your display today was impressive. You as well, my lady," and Katara waved to him before he continued, "You should know that should you ever take the throne, the people of this city will follow you completely."

"Are they that easily won over?" Zuko wondered.

"It's all in the presentation," Jee grumbled as he finally opened the intricate locks. After all, the boy had shown the people his power, his tenacity and mercy all in one go: and they _loved_ to be entertained.

The door wailed open just enough for the two to squeeze out. Jee looked around, behind them, and then pointed down the dark hall.

"There are stairs out the back of here, they'll lead you back out into the arena. Sneak out that way, go quickly... I think you can deal with anyone who gets in your way."

Zuko and Katara turned to go, when Zuko paused and looked back at his subordinate. If he was ever found out….

Jee observed the boy as well, much different than when he had served under him on his hunt for the Avatar. Something had changed in him, but Jee knew he would never figure out what…was there less of a proud air about him, somehow? And the boy, the prince whom Jee had accused of knowing nothing of respect, suddenly shocked him.

Zuko bowed.

A swift, low, proper bow to him.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll repay you somehow."

And he hurried into the dark.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N; Whoo-hoo, almost thirty chapters now. This is insane. Once again, thanks to all who are reading and reviewing. And I want to PARTICULARY thank any Kataang supporters who are reading this, despite the hints I've been dropping. Thanks for enjoying it anyway!!! Hope you liked the chapter. **


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30 for everybody. Yeah, I was planning on originally making this fan fiction only 30 chapters or so, but then it sort of grew. I started writing in all of the flashbacks to refer to later, the misadventures. And the dragon fight? Yeah, I wasn't originally planning that. Oh, I have one really big question for anybody who knows. Has the final battle between Aang and Ozai _ever_ been written? I see a lot of "post series" fics, but I've never seen Aang and Ozai going head to head. But that's something to look forward to writing. Thank you!!**

Chapter 30

The sun had set, blowing a cool and calming night wind over the feverous city that was alive with excitement, lanterns like giant fireflies in the streets as Suki looked down on them. There was no moon, only a gauzy layer of cloud, which made them that much harder to spot, at least.

She had tried to keep an eye out, obviously wondering where that dragon had gone to. Those things tend not to simply disappear, of course. But as far as she could tell, it had long departed.

She patted Appa, who grunted in thanks while Momo chewed on something thoughtfully. What was it? She may have been able to tell before all the teeth marks were put into it, but not now.

Suki shifted, circling back over the forests where she had landed them before, and spotting the large developed mining area.

Now to just keep her eyes sharp for Sokka and the group.

She hoped that Katara and that Fire Prince would be alright in the meantime.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sokka looked down into the mine shafts, catching the strange chill that came on the air. Cold, for early summer. He was evaluating it on the map of tunnels and looking for the main one in the network. Where were they plotted?

He had been underground many times before, for whatever reason need be: the incident with the badger moles and the traveling musicians was not one he was soon to forget, after all. The dark didn't bother him, the cold didn't bother him, and he was a hardened warrior.

So why did the mouth of the mine look so much like a tomb that it sent shivers through him?

_Cut it out, Sokka_, he scolded himself, looking at the guard towers posted around the mining area. Ropes, levers, carts, tools, all were stacked neatly nearby, ready for use again at sunrise. Ready to be taken down into that darkness and coldness. How many blackened and tired slaves had worked to develop all of this? He looked over at Aang and Toph, and gave a large sigh. Shook his shoulders to loosen up.

"Okay, you guys. Are you ready?"

"Obviously," Toph responded with a curt nod. _Yeah, the dark isn't really a problem for her_, Sokka thought, close to some absurd kind of jealousy. Aang nodded as well.

"Good. Now, there's a reserve of water near this tunnel right here, the northern one."

"How do I get there?" Aang asked, his nose near to touching the parchment.

Iroh looked at the map as well, holding a hand full of flame as close to it as he dared and following the sketched lines on the map that described the route through the earth.

"Take this tunnel down and fork left. It's not too far in. And Miss Toph?"

"Hey." She gave the monosyllabic answer with a shrug of her left shoulder, so casual and bored it was almost comical. But only almost.

"Toph, I think you and Aang can go down the tunnel and whack down this one, the one that forks right instead. It runs the whole way throughout the mine: that'll be a problem if it's flooded and collapsed."

"No problem for us, though." Aang said. "What will you be doing?"

Sokka blinked. Was there anything he could do? Well, no, not really…..until he saw the barrels of powder resting by the carts of coal. An idea lit like a spark behind both his and Iroh's eyes.

"Stuff," he shot back, walking over to heft one over his shoulder. Yeah, he'd heard of this powder before: it smelt _terrible_. The Fire Nation made fireworks with it sometimes, his father had told him. Not as common as blasting jelly, but he was up for trying something new at this point.

Toph rolled her eyes, hoping this wasn't one of Meathead's crazier plans.

"C'mon, Twinkletoes. We gotta go."

She seized his hand forcefully, walked over to the mine entrance, and then descended into the belly of the earth, Aang spouting little bursts of flame occasionally to keep his feet from faltering. Toph, meanwhile, maneuvered effortlessly. Good thing they were both short, considering how low the tunnel was, and Aang kept one hand trailing along the wall, searching out the water and its rhythm. Hard to tell, through the earth. The pounding, dominant element was all around him, which he knew made Toph feel comfortable. It made him feel like he was being crushed.

"Shhhhh!" Toph suddenly hissed, the echoes bouncing all around them. He hadn't said anything…..

"Try and lower your heartbeat or something, I can't focus."

"Sorry…" he mumbled, telling his heart to slow down it's racing somehow. And they kept walking. It was very quiet, although Aang could almost feel the spirits of the past miners and slaves brushing up against him, like he was walking through a field of high reeds. A collapsed side tunnel here and there. How many accidents did they have down here? He didn't want to think about it.

They reached the fork in the tunnel, looking down both ways for a few moments, the darkness eating up the sparse light hungrily. Toph sent two quick pulses down the tunnels to see how far they went. Very far indeed.

Aang leaned outwards for a moment.

"Okay, Iroh told me to take the left fork."

"I heard him, Twinkletoes. Are you gonna just stand here?"

He shook his head, which he realized Toph couldn't possibly know, so he answered aloud, his voice booming in the long tunnels. "I'll go down and drag the water out, then I'll come back here and we can bring down this whole tunnel."

"Yeah, and get out of here before we get squashed like roach-rats," Toph reminded him in a very sarcastic tone. She heard his light, barely- there birds' steps hurry off, and thudded down to wait in the total dark. Not like it mattered.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Once he was able to focus, it didn't take very long for Aang to find the water he was looking for. Actually, it was more of earthbending that helped him find it than waterbending. He had shoved a nudge of energy through a side of the tunnel randomly, and felt a hollow space inside it somewhere, a big one, filled with swirling, trapped coolness. There it was.

_Okay, Aang, now for the easy part. _

He slid down into his stance, took a breath. No, wait, that was firebending….but why not try? _Yeah, alright_. One more good breath and he tensed his body, head to toe, hands pressed against the wall. He let his mind probe outwards curiously, feeling the movement of the water, the gentle ebb and flow of it reflecting the chi that was swirling in his heart. Of course, it was only gentle when it wanted to be…

He suddenly pushed out his energy, wrapping it all around the water, down the caverns, in every nook and cranny possible, all of it submitting instantly before the Avatar, and he gave it a great pull. _Thwump_! A sudden jerk, a sound like a thick pot cracking. And he felt wetness on his hands, a small dribble between the rocks, trickling over them. Perfect.

Aang seized the small drops through the tiny fissure, and began to make a fluid, flowing motion with his arms, pulling it out to begin pooling at his feet at a steadily increasing rate. A good swift punch into the rock, and the drizzle became a torrent of foam, bursting forward and falling away farther into the earth.

He gave the wall a few more taps, the splits appearing like some sort of rapid-growing ivy along the tunnel wall, all the water breaking free.

The airbender concentrated, another breath. He didn't realize it, but he had slid into an earthbending stance, better suited for this type of footing. The kind of guts it took when you needed to move a heap of rock along with a ton of water.

One more go, and there was a massive, rushing explosion as the entire hidden resource of water began to pour itself out, now a roar. _That ought to do it_, he reasoned. And as an afterthought, he struck a good blow to the rocky ceiling overhead, a tremor that made the entire network of mines give one violent 'thump' like the heartbeat of the earth.

He heard things a long ways down begin to crumble, and turned back the way he had come.

Hmph. _Let's see them get slaves in here now….at least for a little while. Then I can really stop this._

Going out was much faster than coming in, he realized, as he was able to spring long and light over the unsure ground, one flame thrust ahead of him and unable to hear the sound of his breath over the rushing water.

Another step….careful! He leapt up and the flame he was holding suddenly touched upon the back of a dark-haired earthbender's head. And he landed quietly, calling out to Toph over the storm of water that was gushing behind him.

"Toph! Come on, let's do this!"

She needed no second bidding. Perfect timing: she was just beginning to get bored. Toph stood, feeling the air disturbed and the earth beside her trodden on as Twinkletoes moved to stand beside her.

She took a great, snorting breath and hunkered down, knees outward. Aang mimicked his earthbending teacher as she placed her hands on the wall of the main tunnel, splaying their fingers apart. They would have to time this perfectly, or else…..she took another breath, and then shouted over into Aang's ear.

"Okay, Twinkletoes! We're gonna have to time this! Now I need you to _listen_, got it? Listen for the vibration of the earth and try to jump into it, and when there's a pause, PUSH!!"

He nodded, and both earthbenders bowed their heads, hands dug up to their wrists in the walls, senses acute as both sought it out.

And there is was, _thumpthumpthump_, soft and very much like a drumbeat of some kind, music in the earth itself. No wonder Sokka had said those badger moles liked what he played for them, that time in the caves.

Aang kept hearing the pattern repeat, wondering why it seemed familiar, when he heard it falter for the briefest second as the water he had made way for exploded down in the lower caverns like a dam bursting. Toph had found her opening.

"Now!!"

Both reeled back and then forced their energies into the side of the mine shaft, a gigantic tremor that boomed throughout the whole network of tunnels….and they began to tremble, that powerful pulse all that was needed to tip the dominos.

"Let's go! Hurry!" Aang shouted over to her, snatching her by the hand and jerking her along, although Toph understood the situation perfectly: collapsing tunnels were nothing new to her.

They kept going.

Aang was weaving as the ceiling fell in on them, just barely able to see the chunk of sky that signified the exit ahead. His lungs took in the clouds of black soot that was all around them, when with a massive _crash_, a boulder, a big chunk of earth, was knocked free, smashing downward in front of them. Toph felt the vibrations rush through her bones, deep and powerful, and Aang screeched to a grinding halt. But Toph took the initiative and kept running forwards.

She extended one arm out, the other clutching Aang's hand tightly.

"Twinkletoes, do exactly what I'm doing!"

Aang obeyed, but managed to ask as they picked up speed over the rocky, uneven ground, "How are we gonna get around that?!"

"Around?" she asked lightly and innocently a second before impact.

And impact it was, the strangest sensation Aang had ever felt, the most jarring, as both benders smashed straight through, tunneling into it and carving their path through as though going into a snow drift, with a burst of rock, dust and noise.

Nothing to stop them now, the duo charged out of the mines like the dead being resurrected, blackened with coal, and Toph turned to face back down the tunnel. It gave another great tremble.

She planted both feet in a wide stance, grabbing one side of the tunnel mouth, the muscles in her arms flexing angrily with effort, and she dragged it. As though she were closing an extremely heavy double door, the earthbending master pulled the two sides of the tunnel into one, healing the split that had been put into it. And with another blast of stone, the tunnel mouth was gone.

She dusted off her hands. Well, that was taken care of.

Now where were Sokka and Iroh?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Okay, all clear," Sokka whispered as his eyes picked out two little, coughing benders emerge from the caves. "You do the honors."

"No, no, I insist, boy. It's all yours."

"I could _never_," he responded dramatically.

"Ah, of course you could."

"Oh, come on, you're the firebender. Go ahead; I want to see what it looks like."

Persuaded, Iroh looked over at the boy, and then crouched with a tiny spirit of flame dancing on his finger. He laid it gently down to the earth, and let it catch the path they had laid out.

With a long, fizzing and hissing noise, the two watched the flame race forward, eating up the trail of powder and sparking over the rough ground. They stood, hands folded regally behind their backs, aristocrats evaluating a work of art, as the trench of fire sped away, the hissing softening to a whisper as it diverted to go down one of the tunnels as well as continued forward.

Both leaned forward in anticipation.

BAM

And the fire found the sacks of blasting powder they had strategically placed at the mouths of all the other mine shafts, adding to the collapse of the networks under their feet as the whole earth jumped. The noise of the blast obliterated their eardrums but left grins on their faces while they shielded themselves from all the falling dust.

"You know, everywhere we go, something explodes," Sokka commented, brushing out his coarse hair.

"I agree. We must be some sort of omen."

"Most likely."

And they ran forward to meet with Aang and Toph.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

No one seemed to be noticing them, as they sunk in and out of the blue shadows that conformed to the city streets. And besides, they looked to be simply two youths out for a night walk in the festival, if anyone did.

Katara glanced discreetly over her shoulder just in case, and then returned her eyes to fix on Zuko's back. Wow, he was very quiet. The way he moved conveyed a sort of practiced stealth….she wondered where he had learned that.

They had met with no opposition leaving the prison, creeping out through the now very empty arena with moonlight spilling in through the huge hole in the roof, looking for an exit. That was when Katara had spotted it, glinting sharply in the trampled dust, and picked it up.

One of the dragon's scales, like some kind of flat jewel.

She had tucked it away for a souvenir of sorts and continued to follow Zuko. He had managed to lead them here, somehow.

The firebender looked over at the side of a building, considered, and slunk up it with the agility of a spider, leaving her to clamor up the drain pipe and onto the roofs. No one would think to look up there, what with the festival going on in the streets below, not to mention avoiding the crowds. Providing they were quiet enough, that was, up here in the wind as they crept along.

Katara shivered in the cold night air, wishing her clothes weren't quite so ripped as she hugged her arms about herself.

Zuko paused in front of her, trying to gather his thoughts and map out whatever plan he could think of: he hadn't thought it through just yet. So they were out of the cell, out of the dungeons. Now what?

"Where are we supposed to look for them?" he spoke suddenly. Katara realized that, while not looking her in the eyes, he was speaking to her.

"I told Sokka to go finish what we needed to do over at the mines. Maybe that would be that place to look." Now to just figure how to get there……

A harder breeze blew, and she hugged herself tighter with an envious thought towards Zuko. She wondered if firebenders ever got cold. Probably not, with that ever-burning furnace going on inside them. Sure, she was used to the cold, but she usually had something warm on between the air and her skin….she leaned over the side of the roof, and dropped the short distance into the side street. Oww, that one hurt her leg.

Katara looked around a few times, hearing Zuko fall catlike behind her and begin to hiss something at her as she reached for a cloak on display at an abandoned vendor's cart.

"Whatcha doin'?"

Both of them stopped, but only Katara pivoted around to see two young Fire Nation children, a boy of about eight with a sister of five, the boy with a glower on his face and an accusatory finger aimed at her. "Leave our stuff alone. Don't you steal from our Mom's stuff, or I'll yell!"

Katara considered the cloak already wrapped around her body, the cold look Zuko gave the boy as if to tell him "don't-you-dare," and the impoverished appearance of the children. She sighed deeply.

"No, no. Don't worry, I wouldn't do that," she assured him, dropping down. The boy did not appreciate the demeaning action, and stuck out a grubby little fist.

"Well then pay up, lady!"

Rude little Fire Nation kids….is it just in their nature? She thought, reached into the fold of her clothing, and withdrew the dragon scale.

It was like showing a crow a diamond ring: the boy's eyes lit up, and he did not need to be told what it was as he snatched it. His little sister gasped, puffing a ball of flame into her hands to look at the glimmering treasure they hunched over. It also cast a better light onto the big people's faces, and it was the boy's turn to gasp.

"You're the benders from the arena!" he shouted, much louder than either would have liked. The little girl ran up to Katara, burnt umber eyes glowing, bouncing with excitement.

"Ha! And Kan said that girls couldn't fight! Boy, his face looked like a fish's after seeing you do that magic with the water!"

Katara looked down at the girl indecisively.

"But what are you doing here?" the boy continued, over his shock and back to business while his sister babbled.

"We need to go somewhere very important," Zuko came in. The boy's gaze melted into one of utter admiration, looking over at the firebender he had watched that day, and he nodded as Zuko asked seriously, "Understand?"

"Uh-huh," the little girl complied as well.

"Good. Now, don't tell anybody you saw us."

"But why…"

"It doesn't matter. _Don't tell_."

His new hero now before him, the little boy thumped a hand over his heart with a stern face.

"By the fires of Agni, I shall keep my word!" he squeaked.

Satisfied, Zuko and Katara turned to leave the two with the small fortune they had just handed over, when the explosion was heard.

It echoed throughout the streets, a great roll of thunder. The blast spewed sparks into the sky in radiant curls, giving a golden underbelly to the low-hanging clouds as it did so, before shrinking back down.

"Fireworks!" the little girl giggled with delight.

"Three guesses as to where that came from," Katara muttered as they took off. They weren't very far away at all.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Wow," Toph muttered, as she felt the vibrations of tunnels giving in at last. That was quit a clean-up this Zian guy had in store for himself: serves him right. Aang shouted something unintelligible over at Sokka and Iroh as they all ran from the hurtling debris, Toph and Aang deflecting the worst of them.

"Hey!"

There was a pleased grunt from overhead, a white storm cloud dropping to the earth, and amidst the rocks landed Appa, Suki atop him and waving frantically. An explosion was hard to miss. She slid down and sprinted to Sokka, embracing him quickly before pulling away and smirking. "At least I always know how to find you," she commented dryly, looking at the rubble.

"Uh huh, yeah, okay. Now can we leave? I'll bet you anything that someone's gonna be curious," Toph urged, plodding over to Appa.

"We still have to find Katara and Hothead…" Sokka protested quickly.

"Oh, they're here," Toph shrugged, pointing into the darkness just before the two battered figures came hurtling out of it and straight into the arms of their respective relatives.

Katara and Zuko, in one piece.

"_Finally!" _Sokka blurted, crushing Katara's ribs into his own as he lifted her off the ground. "Took you long enough!"

"Toph! Aang!" Katara cried, oblivious to the destroyed mines and fires burning around her as she reached out and pulled them all into an impromptu group hug. "I was so worried about you guys!"

"Good to see you, Sugarqueen," Toph huffed in a muffled voice as she was squashed against her with one side pressing into Aang. She usually felt Twinkletoes' temperature inch upwards as he returned Katara's embraces, but she only heard him say, "Whew! I was worried too." Weird.

Meanwhile, Iroh had snatched Zuko as well, saying nothing and making the embrace very quick, Zuko obviously humiliated by the undignified act but swiftly returning it.

Sokka looked over at Zuko, and only nodded at him as Zuko caught the glance.

That was enough thanks on his part.

"Alright," Katara sighed finally, "We need to hurry and get….."

_Fwoosh!_

A burst of fire landed between herself and Sokka, the few feet apart that they were as both jumped backwards. Toph was the first to react, swinging her body around at hurtling a chunk of rock to smack some unseen head in the dark. Without a break in the motions, she lowered her stance, put her arms out in front of her and twisted both wrists around as though she were lashing them around ropes for better grip.

A growl, and she raised her arms up, sending a wave smashing through the earth that rolled over it and cracked it open, upsetting several more soldiers that materialized.

Sokka drew his boomerang while Suki pulled her knife out….

"Stop, stop. Enough!" came a sickeningly familiar voice.

And there was the sound of bows being drawn, seven arrow being fletched. Hard to miss a target this close, especially for the company of Yu Han archers that resided in Katsu.

Zian came striding over the rocks in a swirling cape, surveying the damage to the mines and glaring wildly at Katara and Zuko.

"**You two**! I knew that no cell could hold you …."

_He had followed them? How? What? What have we done, leading him here?_ Katara's mind raced.

Zian smirked.

"You know, I was planning on keeping you two alive for the last day of the festival. How much more of a thrill would it be to see our two new champions fight _each other_? No sneaking out of that one! And as for your friends….we can always enjoy another round of executions. Oh, I can be terribly creative."

_What are you going to do, Sokka_? Sokka's mind screamed into his ear. _Thinkthinkthink!_ Hard to think when there's an arrow aimed at your jugular.

"Now, I consider myself a patient man, but I find it hard to tolerate when guests in my own kingdom…"

As he talked, no one saw it.

Against the cloudy sky, it was hard to see anything at all, actually, in the partial dark pierced only by several torches.

And it was so quiet, as well, that it was barely heard over Zian's talking as his gaze pierced Zuko.

"You little Fire Nation brat, your father was right in exiling you, if this is the filth that you…."

THUNK

A pair of iron, gleaming spikes hooking him under his arms, piercing into the metal armor and gashing his limbs wide open, and the massive shadow lifted Zian from the earth to be held aloft under a golden gaze.

Naturally, Zian cried out, and there was a burst of white flame that shot out across the heads of all the soldiers, the archers turning and fleeing. They were known for their marksmanship, not their courage.

"Come back here!" Zian wailed, which was outmatched when a roar ripped from the dragon's throat down at him. It shocked him into submission, limp with terror now, and he slumped in the dragon's grip, fear and blood loss taking their tolls.

Zuko stood, shocked at the serpent that towered above them, even Appa shrunken back as everyone was frozen in terror. It looked so much larger out here, wings opened to blot out the sky, staring coolly back down at him.

Both parties waited, one on edge, the other one patient.

Was it waiting for him?

A few words managed to spill from Zuko's throat, and for the second time that night, he bowed. So many to be grateful for….

"Thank you."

The dragon flipped Zian out of its grasp, giving a disinterested snort of blaze, and it too bowed its head low, spreading out its bat-like wings as a gentleman would spread his cape, and then straightened.

Iroh's eyes widened considerably in shock.

And as it had come, the dragon departed, only the softest rush under the muffled wings as it melted into the sky.

It was gone.

In a stupor, Katara was first to break out of it, shaking her head and running over to Appa, trying to console him as she roused the group.

"Come on, we have to go!!!"

And they climbed on, looking at the mines that would no longer be able to fuel the Fire Nation ships, the burning mine yard, and as they soared upwards from the earth, the hole in the great structure of the arena. Everywhere they went, something got destroyed….

"You know," Sokka finally said, running both hands through his hair and still shaken up, "we make terrible tourists."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Hello, people! Hope you liked the chapter. Now to get back to Jin and Jet, Ozai's Angels, Hakoda and Jeong- Jeong, and Ozai himself! Whew, now we have about ten chapters to go. If you don't count the epilogue, that is. See you later! Oh, and thanks for over 31,000 hits!!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Okay, here we go with Chapter 31. Wow, I never actually thought this fic would make it this far! Oh, and thanks to all for over 300 reviews! (Lights sparkler) Wait, ONE more thing. Remember those lizards from "The Chase"? I brought them back, called them basilisks. Why? **

**Because a BASILISK is a type of lizard that can run on water (as we saw in the episode), not just a fictional beast of J.K Rowling's. Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter 31

Azula recalled Father telling her that she had inherited all of her stubbornness and persistence from her grandfather, along with her firebending prowess. Well, not exactly _stubbornness_: it rang too true of the Earth Kingdom people, really. Willpower, Azula preferred that one.

But whatever it was, it had been driving the trio near without rest, having departed from Ba Sing Se with all haste and on a course to the Fire Nation. No tanks, no armed processions, just the three of them. Traveling across a continent takes time, and yet Azula's willpower proved the better, as they fast approached the Western Sea. Granted, at other's expenses.

"Azula," Ty Lee remarked as they stopped briefly in the early morning to eat, "We should let these basilisks rest, they've been going all night." _We're killing them_.

"That's what the beasts are for," Azula remarked practically. "It's not as if they're rare."

Ty Lee's soft eyes locked with the huge, exhausted lizard's cold reptilian ones, and she offered her bread to it. The jaws snatched it up and devoured it in one gulp, the tongue rasping over her palm. Maybe she wouldn't have cared about it so much if she hadn't named it…but c'mon, he definitely looked like a "Cuddles."

"Eww…" Mai grumbled, as she watched Ty Lee swipe the saliva onto the grass. What was she doing? These things weren't pets, after all.

Mai looked up at the sun, already hot and burning the pale sky, the heat invading her senses and toasting her fair face. Travel was overrated, to be sure. The Western Sea would only be a short while from here, maybe a few days more, and then another week across to the Fire Nation capital. Before, they had been taking a meandering course, chasing down Zuko or the Avatar, deterring and playing the endless game of cat and mouse.

No games now, though.

"Come, get back on. We need to keep moving," Azula remarked calmly, swinging herself astride the basilisk's back once more. Ty Lee watched a tremor of fatigue move up the reptile's left leg as it was brought around.

"But we just…"

"Now." Azula came again, sharper and clearer. Ty Lee gave a reluctant jerk to the reins, and they sped forward over the path, the shifting of the scales a rhythm beneath her. Azula was leaned forward slightly, head low and out of the wind, body tensed as she drove her mount to run faster. If only they had a better means of travel. But the river they had traveled on took a different course.

Azula also cast a glance up at the sun, noting its position, and was reminded of the solar eclipse that the Avatar's friends had somehow discovered: she clearly recalled the water girl's voice as she spoke of it. How had the Avatar and his friends discovered that? There were few people of the Fire Nation who ever dared speak of the Darkest Day, and Azula was unsettled. That seemed to be happening more and more to her.

She had to get there before the eclipse: it was like a whip lashing her. How had it come to this? Everything had been under her control, such a short while ago. Things had slipped through her grasp like fine sand.

And now here she was, with Ba Sing Se under the command of some waste of a general, racing across the Earth Kingdom in an urgency to be there, when Zuko and the Avatar pulled whatever stunt they where planning.

She and Zuko where going to settle this, sooner or later, and then she could rest at night again with that weak traitor washed from the family line.

And she fingered the scar, no longer realizing when she did so. That red, angry mark that spoke so clearly to her: _You're not as strong as you think_.

The very thought turned her blood to acid, bubbling with impotent rage, and she struck the reins harder, not caring if she ran this beast into the dust.

She had places to go.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was hard to believe, really. How had the one ship spawned a fleet of four others in two weeks? Hakoda could only attribute it to Kuei and the firebender, the deserter, about whom Hakoda himself knew very little. But between the dethroned King and the hardened Fire Nation fugitive, there was not a battle tactic they did not know, no working or strategy that Kuei could not link to something in history, no weaponry that Jeong Jeong (if that, Hakoda considered, was even his real name) could not explain in detail.

So now he had a small fleet of Fire Nation ships, each contested for and won, run by members of his original crew, and Earth Kingdom soldiers they had picked up along the way. Not quite an army at all, but every tree is a seed at first.

_No, that analogy doesn't work_, Hakoda considered as he walked out onto the main deck and into the morning light. _A tree isn't really of the same nature as an army…._

He glanced about, observing the sea, and the deserter out on deck, alongside the former Earth King, his helmsman. Kuei and that bear (which Bato had yet to reconcile with) had beaten him there. Kuei always got up to watch the sunrise: he had never been on an ocean before, and it was quite a sight to take in, even after weeks at sea... And after the sea sickness went away.

"Ah, good morning, Captain Hakoda!" Kuei piped up instantly upon seeing him, waving to Hakoda enthusiastically from his seat on the crates. Gone were the elaborate robes and jewelry, replaced by faded blue Water Tribe garb. The braid had shortened considerably, with no more perfumes and soaps to keep it. But, he was still the same Kuei that Sokka and Katara had befriended, a bit bumbling even in his competence.

"I'm no Captain of any sort, Kuei," Hakoda remarked, taking a seat facing east as well. He had finally gotten into the habit of addressing the man properly: it had taken quite a while to cease calling him "Your Majesty."

"Ah, so you keep saying," he commented, rubbing between Bosco's velvety ears. The bear gave a grumble from its chest and promptly fell asleep, resting his large head over Jeong Jeong's feet.

While Bosco seemed to have a vendetta against Bato, he adversely seemed attached to the firebender for no particular reason. The man's gold brown eyes regarded him in stotic silence.

His joining of the crew had been, of course, purely circumstantial. It had been a choice between Hakoda's ship or a battalion of angry firebenders, really, so it was reasonable enough. All the men had been terribly tense in his presence, despite Hakoda's (somewhat doubtful) assurances that he was their ally: they had been intending to drop him off at the next Earth Kingdom port; they had all made their minds up.

All, that is, save Kuei, who had instantly found a companion in the man. And then Jeong Jeong had aided them in a naval battle, one thing started another, and now the men considered him a good, though quiet, companion as well. Who would have thought? Reconciling with a firebender! Hakoda snorted now, as all three enjoyed the morning for a moment, men of three nations in a peaceful window of time as though the past 100 years had not happened.

"Something amuses you, Hakoda Water Tribe?"

The firebender seemed to like attaching formal names to everyone, and Hakoda didn't really mind anyway. He continued to smile.

"If my son could see this situation, I'm sure he'd get quite a bit of amusement out of it…."

_Ah, yes, the oaf. Hopefully it's a stage_, Jeong Jeong thought in passing, _or he'd be quite the embarrassment to his father._

"How much longer until we reach them, Captain Hakoda? Your children and the Avatar, I mean?"

Hakoda sighed. There was no point in trying to change anything, seeing as how this naming system seemed to work well enough. He looked over at Kuei as he stood to begin the day's work, noting the formation of the other four ships in the fleet

"I'd say the Northern Shores of the Earth Kingdom are about a week away, don't you suppose?"

Kuei considered, his mind paging through the hundreds of volumes he had committed to memory as a boy. Considering the currents and weather of this time of year, the lack of ports for Fire Nation opposition to come from….yes, that seemed right.

He nodded, and all three walked off, minds elsewhere.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

It would be a very risky affair for all parties involved: Jin thought she was going to collapse from the tension, flat out fall over and yell the information that she had to keep clenched behind her teeth, if they were interrogated before being allowed to leave the city.

Jet had, while he had been imprisoned, asked that man, Long Feng, if they would close transportation in and out of the city. After a very long glare, the oily man had hissed that no, they most certainly wouldn't. Ba Sing Se was as valuable as it was, not only for its wall, but for the wealth it held through trade and commerce and yada yada yada….. Jet had become disinterested: he had gotten the information that he needed.

So they had arranged it: Jet, Longshot, Smellerbee and Tao would depart from the city as discreetly as possible, begin heading to Katsu to snatch back Huian and her mother from the Fire Nation clutches. _Enslaved_, Jin thought. _Retched._

And then she had begged to come, for some reason unknown even to her. Some deep-rooted want for an adventure, to get out of this city and go far from it. Leave Mom, Gen and Qiu? They were less likely to get arrested now than she was: Jin's face would have undoubtedly been linked with the prisoner's disappearances by now, and it seemed to be an idea worth considering.

"Can you fight?" Jet had asked simply.

The answer was no. She had never wielded a weapon in her life, never sparred or learned anything about fighting styles.

Even her bending, that was mediocre at best. She was no prodigy, to be sure. But earthbending had been all that she could offer him, so she had.

And Jet had examined her closely, not really caring how good her fighting skills were: they could be taught, improved, cultivated. But he was seeking the guts, will and resistance that were the prime traits in any good Freedom Fighter, and had discovered all three hidden secretively behind her large olive green eyes. It had been very challenging for Jin not to squeal (or something embarrassing like that) when Jet had given a simple nod of his head.

The nod to tell her she was welcome.

So now here they were, their group separated as they approached the main gate, being jostled around on their ostrich horses by the mill of trader pouring in under the watch of Fire Nation soldiers. Jin and Jet together, supplies lashed down behind them, Tao in a wagon with Longshot and Smellerbee sitting within its coverings.

_Okay, take a breath, Jin,_ she ordered herself. _In and out, that's all it takes.._

Now there was the gate, the soldiers looking menacing with their armor in the midday sun, but she would _not_ be intimidated! She would _not_ be scared! And yet she was, shaking with fear as she held the reins. If they were found out now, before the journey even really began, they would be imprisoned, and executed, and thrown into some callous mass burial, and….she tried to shut off the images speeding through her mind, but her heart froze when a voice called out gruffly,

"Hey, you! Who are you and what is your business away from this city?"

Jet turned. If he was at all scared, his face did not show it. In fact, Jin would have sworn he was smirking, the slightest turning upwards of his grim line of a mouth.

"Good day, gentleman," he greeted courteously, bowing his head of unkempt hair. "My wife and I were just heading to Katsu to visit her sister." A calm voice, one of a practiced liar. But Jin didn't really note his tone.

_Your **what**_?! Jin had to shriek inwardly. **_His what_**?! But it made sense; two people of their age traveling together….she firmly suppressed the color rising in her cheeks.

"Is that so?" the Fire Nation solider looked over at Jin critically, up and down, and she tried very hard not to squirm. The soldiers poked thorough their supplies, didn't discover anything interesting to bother with.

"Alright, fine, go on through," the man said after a moment of finding nothing wrong with the "young couple." He waved them on, and the two gladly departed, setting on the wide road with glances behind them to look after the rest of their party.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_Uuugh._ Everyone was exhausted, after almost two weeks of monotonous traveling and training since they had left Katsu, no one terribly interested in talking while they counted down the weeks left to the eclipse. A lot of babble going on in their heads, but not much passing between them.

Quiet, too much quiet, frustrated Aang. It irritated him a lot. Sure, a little quiet was good, but this was ridiculous. Just the same thing day after day.

But he did have to note the strange change in Zuko, since their departure from that disaster of a city: a slight slump in the shoulders like tension had come out if him, a bit less flint in his eyes as they trained. Trained with Iroh, all three of them working together: that gave Aang a small bit of enjoyment. Anything that felt like a family, he was always glad to be a part of.

So now here he was, lying awake and thinking things over, looking up at the moon. The moon that would soon overpower the sun and give him his only chance to be victorious and end this terrible war. How? How would he be victorious? He knew that the Fire Lord would never surrender, if he was anything like his son in his value of pride and honor.

So how to defeat someone like that, someone whose power you don't even know, who will never back down?

No way except….

Aang felt the answer squeeze at his heart as he refused to acknowledge it, refused to think that he would ever be forced to do such a thing. He had never considered it before, that he may have to.

He may have to kill Ozai to win.

There was something about killing that sent a chill up his young spine, a despair that clung to his chest. It was so…final. The utter irrevocability of it was painful, that an apology would do nothing. A moment's anger, a moment's loss of control, and a lifetime of regret. Aang frowned, trying to turn off the terrible train of thought.

He was sure that all of this doubt was not helping him with his chakra. At all.

The Avatar let out a frustrated groan, rolling onto his stomach in the dirt and resting his head on his folded arms. Of course, the Avatar State. The power that he had not gotten back since Ba Sing Se. And why should he? He hadn't been cautious enough, and he had refused to listen to Guru Pahtik's advice. Maybe refusal, not earthly attachments, was his problem. He still refused, for example, in his heart, to let Katara go. How could he ever? She was…..she was….what?

What was she?

_Beautiful_ was what came to mind immediately. Yes, her face looking down at him when he had woken up from the iceberg, the blue eyes curious and bright. The blush had been hard to control: he didn't have any experience with girls! He hardly ever spoke to them, it was too awkward!

_Brave,_ he asserted directly afterwards. Yes, she was defiantly brave, with a will and determination that was hard to come by. Monk Gyatso had always said that courage was an essential part of a noble spirit, and Katara had plenty of it.

Kind, too. Yes, she was so caring, (most of the time. She still had a scary temper…) comforting him and promising that she would always be there, telling him to keep going, to…

_Be strong….never give up without a fight…._

Those words, they felt so familiar, even though he knew that Katara had never spoken them. Where, then, had they sprung from? It felt like a fuzzy memory beyond his reach.

But no matter, now. It wasn't important.

And yet, for some reason, he was not stirred in thinking of her. There was no fluttering of his heart, no flush in his face, as he remembered her embraces and her glances, her hours of teaching him that he treasured, nothing like there had been before. Not that he didn't care about her! No, no, no! He cared about her so much it weighed on him. He cared about all of them, would lay down his life for his "family", and he knew that Guru Pahtik had been right in that aspect: that he was afraid of losing the support that had carried him this far.

Carried him.

Because every one of those embraces and kind words, looking back, had been ones for strength. Support. Loyalty. Devotion. A silent agreement to die if it was asked of her, for his sake, and it was scary to think about that in itself. Not romantic love, not crush love...

The embrace of….of….something in his past. And there was that fuzzy memory again, rising like a few bubbles from the depths of his thought. Nothing he could fully remember, how frustrating was that? But then Aang sniffed, and something floated to him, buried deep, deep, deep.

The scent of sandalwood, something practical, mixed with a plain flower, a soft scent. Not youthful, but still beautiful in a welcoming way. Like open arms.

_Gray eyes, dark short hair…..huh?_

Aang shook his head, pawing through himself and trying to locate that crush that he had so clung to for Katara. Where was it? How had it slipped out of his grasp, somehow? It made no sense, and he could only hope that talking with her would help. Yeah, that was it.

He would talk to her, and then this weird feeling would go away.

_What kind of feeling_? His thoughts persisted. He thought it would be emptiness, but there was none. His spirit felt as full as ever.

Why?

"Twinkletoes! Shut it, I'm tryin' to sleep…"

"Huh?" he blinked out of his jumbled thoughts and looked over at Toph, who had rolled over to face him.

"I said 'Shhhhh!' You're talking to yourself." A pause. "Are you okay?"

She looked concerned, actually. He had a feeling she was usually more concerned than she dared to let on, for some reason. She always hid herself behind a few layers of sarcasm and indifference, but he had caught little glimpses of it, of who she was beneath the outer layers.

Boy, he wished he could let her know that it was _okay _to let up sometimes Teach her that he _wanted_ to meet the slightly calmer, questioning Toph a little more often: not that he didn't like her the way she was now. She was funny, arguing with Sokka or deadpanning some pun with a straight face ( which Aang would never have managed.) And she was tough, so untouchable: if he could become an earthbender close to what she was, he would be forever amazed.

So what was wrong? Her questioned bounced around his head. Oh, the things he could have told her! And he had been full ready to, when out came….

"No. You know what? Everything's great." And he smiled; Toph could feel the vibrations warm as he did. She smiled back.

"Good. Now go to sleep, because we've got some more training to do tomorrow. I just remembered a technique I used once to beat this one guy…" her speech was cut off by a yawn, and she seemed to want to save the tale of a typical Toph butt-kicking session for the morning. She rolled back over, curled up and resumed her un-ladylike snoring.

Aang couldn't wait to hear the story. He laughed to himself, spirit feeling light again for some reason, and he was able to drop back to sleep, unbothered by dreams.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Toph remembered her parents telling her that there was a fun game they wanted to play with her, and that she would get a big reward every time she did it right. A game? It sounded fun! Toph had nodded enthusiastically, clapping her little hands together in anticipation. Was there going to be earthbending in this game? She had asked.

"No," was her mother's response. "It's a different kind of game."

"Ooohh….what is it?"

It was really boring, that was what it was. She had to stay in her little room, and be as quiet as possible, until Mom came and told her it was okay. This was no fun! Sure, getting to have an earthbending lesson as a reward was good, but still…. She could keep quiet for as long as she wanted, but did she have to stay in here, too? Blah!

But she was obedient anyway, the first five times or so. And every time Mom or Dad asked her to play the game, she had heard a lot of voices in the house, new vibrations milling about, all excited and happy, babbling and moving. What was that? Laughter, occasionally. It sounded like a lot more fun that she was having!

So one night, she had gotten curious.

Getting to her steady, rooted little feet, a four-year-old Toph Bei Fong had tip-toed down the hall, placing a sensitive ear to the thin wall that separated her from Mom and Dad. Yeah, now she could hear them!

"Lady Bei Fong, this is an exquisite banquet. Tell me, where is this dish from..."

"…there's fighting up North, I've heard…."

"Oh, no, I could never…."

Okay, so a lot of boring talk, adult stuff. Until something had reached her that, in retrospect, she hadn't wanted to hear.

"Lord Bei Fong, when are you two planning on children? You had been planning it before you went to Omashu for a year four years ago, so what happened?"

"Oh, well, we…" came Dad's voice, tripping over the words.

"How about a strong young boy, eh? Carry on the family wealth?"

"Of course," she heard her mother say hesitantly. Toph's little face scrunched into a frown.What was going on?

"Or at least a lovely young daughter! I'm sure any child of yours would be so heartbreakingly _perfect_ that the suitors would come by the hordes for her, Lady Bei Fong."

Toph waited with baited breath, but the response she was listening for never came.

Wasn't Mom going to mention her? Why was Dad acting like that? Toph wanted to smash thorough the wall and surprise them, scare them and then make them all laugh. They had been being silly, of course! And then Mom would pick her up and show her off to everybody, talking about what a good earthbender Toph was, how smart she was, how great a daughter she was to have. She was blind, yes, but that didn't matter! Yes, that was the way Toph wanted it to happen.

But she knew when she was not welcome, could feel the vibrations radiating like heat from the room, and she had backed away, a lump sitting in her throat like she had taken too big a bite of food, warmth coming into her eyes.

And she had run back down the hall, back into her little refuge, promising that she would never never never trust anybody or care about anybody ever again. Everybody in the whole world was mean and didn't care about her, so there!

Of course, she got over it a bit, after some hysterics. But she still never trusted anybody, never thought anybody understood or cared about her, for the next eight years of her life.

Until a funny little fairy-toed boy had approached her and offered her freedom, that is….

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Eeeps! So sad! Poor Toph, I would be traumatized if my parents ever did that to me. Thank you for 34,000 hits now! Yay! (Gives you all a big cyber-hug.) I hope you liked this chapter, even if you're not a fan of Taang. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all in Chapter 32.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Heeeyy! It's my favorite people on the net! The readers! So yes, thank you for all of the reviews. And, who knew that those things where called Mongoose Dragons? Mongoose, huh? Do they kill snakes or something? (Reminds me of that Rudyard Kipling story.)Darn, these details killlllll me. Anyways, on with the story! **

Chapter 32

"Lower! You gotta get lower!"

"Arrrgh! If I my feet get any farther apart, I'm going to…"

"Not your biggest concern right now, Twinkletoes!" Toph shouted jubilantly, as a fist of rock slammed out of the ground towards him. Aang rooted himself in a steady stance, turned into the blow and smashing it apart, fist outwards. _Whew, that was close_. The fragments fell around him in puffs of dust, and he coughed.

"Good!" Toph nodded, taking a few paces to the left to circle behind him. Aang's eyes followed her as the thoughts raced behind her eyes. Hmm…what to do next? _Ah, I know_.

_Fwump!_ Aang jumped as he watched the earth swallow his teacher whole, in another burst of dust and rubble like it had just dropped out from under her, and heal shut once she was below the surface. Where was she now? Aang looked about, but the ground was flat and undisturbed. What was she trying to do?

"Where did Toph go?" Katara looked over from breakfast, raising an eyebrow.

"Beats me!" The Avatar scratched his bald head, which he noted was getting slightly sunburned in the summer rays.

But then, he twisted just in time to see a disturbance speeding through the ground behind him like a large, tunneling animal, and then….

"GOTCHA!"

"Bwah!!!"

A small juggernaut, Toph shot from the ground a few feet from Aang, and he jerked in surprise as she tackled him, rolling once over and then back on to her feet, listening to the sound of his pulse jump. She laughed.

"You gotta listen closer next time! If you had listened, you would have heard me coming!"

Aang blew out a snort, and watched as the girl chuckled in a muffled way. He grinned toothily, floating back onto his feet. Was he being challenged?

"Okay! Do it again, then!" He dropped into his stance for emphasis, and Toph was more than willing to play along.

Suki looked back to Sokka from watching the two benders have a friendly tussle. Well, as friendly as you could be: earthbending wasn't exactly gentle to begin with. Sokka shook his head as Toph pounced from the ground yet again, this time right in Aang's face, a smile plastered onto her features. Like some sort of little dark-haired gopher mole…

"Argh, I'm exhausted," Katara commented, rubbing her eyes to emphasize it.

They had abolished the whole "travel-at-night" thing. It just wasn't working, it threw them all off. Who would have thought travel could take so much out of you? But then again, she hadn't been sleeping very well lately anyway. Too worried about….well, everything.

Mostly Aang, really. Had she readied him? Had she helped him in every way she possibly could? Spirits, how she wished this burden had not been given to him to carry. She would have taken it for Aang, the responsibility and all, in a heartbeat. Better to suffer herself than see those she cared about suffer.

And she noted that Zuko had not been resting awfully well lately either, hearing him moving around as she was awake at night, getting up to poke at their low-burning fires. What was eating him?

What she had said about his scar? In retrospect, she sort of wished she had kept her mouth shut in that cell. He had given no acknowledgement that it had helped him in any way, so she had probably come across as just being overbearing. She couldn't win with this guy…ah well.

"How much farther do we have to go to meet up with Dad?"

"Uh, we should reach the Northern tip of the Earth Kingdom in a few days; Dad was going to dock at the town that's there…."

"Do you think he's heard about the incident at Katsu?" Katara laughed at the thought of her father's expression.

Sokka shrugged, looking over to Iroh for input. The firebender nodded.

"Most certainly. News of that caliber travels very quickly, I'm sure he's heard by word of mouth if he's stopped at all. It must be a lot easier to stay close to shore, with a Fire Nation ship."

"Hmm." Katara nodded.

She absentmindedly surveyed the members of her family like a mother checking on her children. She noted that Aang had been able to dodge Toph on her latest try, and the earthbender had smacked him on the back in a congratulatory matter. Across from Katara, Sokka was sneakily wrapping an arm around Suki and pulling her in close to him with a soft smile on his face, which made Katara slightly embarrassed. He was _Sokka,_ her _brother!_ He wasn't supposed to be…well…anything but a goofy, sarcastic guy…it would take some getting used to. It was just so unusual to see someone she'd known her whole life act in such a different way.

And of course there was Iroh, partaking in the tea Katara now made sure to brew every morning, which he deemed as "excellent." Boy, he had to try Gran-Gran's someday, particularly her snow tea. That was a whole other world, compared to hers. What was it with older people and the stuff?

Zuko, she noted, eyed his cup, golden eyes shooting around to make sure no one was watching, and took a gulp of it.

Ah hah! There it was! The briefest raise of the eyebrow before his placid mask settled back into place. Katara patted herself on the back.

Yes, she would much rather suffer than let anything happen to them. To any of them.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Iroh was right. News like what had happened at Katsu traveled very quickly, and pity the poor messenger who had to carry it in the process, the account spreading through the capital city in small snippets.

But it was Fire Lord Ozai who had the unique pleasure of hearing it all.

"What did you say?" he asked coldly, dark eyes narrowing as he looked through flames surrounding the throne.

The man cleared his throat, purely as a way to stall for time and savor a few more minutes of his life.

"Well?" A cold, clear, precise voice that rang from a deep, powerful chest.

"Ah…the mines at Katsu have been destroyed, my Lord. The slaves can't work there anymore, it's all been collapsed."

"Do you mean to tell me we've lost the most valuable port in the Earth Kingdom, and that half our Navy is worthless? Is that what you've come to tell me?"

The man gritted his teeth, wishing he could sink into the floor, and he nodded dumbly.

Ozai's glare hardened.

"I hope that simpleton Zian knows what is in store for him…"

"An execution won't be necessary. He's dead."

"Beg pardon?" It was not meant to be polite.

"I mean, he's dead, Lord Ozai!" How could he have forgotten how to properly address the man?

"No, you fool. How is it that he's dead?"

"He was killed."

This was annoying. Having to prompt the quaking man for every scrap of information: Ozai huffed outwards, a fan of fire escaping his mouth as he did so.

"By who was he killed, and who destroyed the mines?"

"Uh….he was killed by a dragon, is what witnesses are saying."

"His dragon? The one he used for the arena duels? How did it get free?"

"Uhhh….."

Ozai shook his hand dismissively, signaling the messenger to get to the more important information. Who was behind it?

"Well…you see…they said it was the Avatar."

Ozai's expression darkened once again, letting the information sink in as it reached him and allowing the train of thought to continue. The boy. So the Avatar was proving a more worthy enemy than he had anticipated, as the comet drew near. First the disturbance in Geming, now in Katsu, working his way across the Earth Kingdom…

_He's coming for you, Ozai,_ came a casual hiss in his ear.

_Excellent_. Ozai's mouth twisted into a shadow of a smile. _There is nothing more welcome_ _than an equal opponent_. But the ghost of amusement was cut away at what the messenger said next.

"Yes, and about the dragon. It…it was dueling two benders for the show…but t-the benders proved to be better…"

"Now that's interesting," Ozai commented. And then the messenger felt the axe come down as his Lord asked, "Who where they?"

_Oh Agni help me Agni help me Agni help me_….

"A waterbender…a young waterbending girl from the South P-pole, the one that's sup-posed to be traveling with the Avatar…."

Ozai waited.

A bead of sweat rolled down the man's face, and he noted it as he took a breath.

"…and a young man with a scar over his left eye. A f-f-firebender… h-he set the dragon free and escaped with the Avatar…."

Ozai froze, eyes widening just the slightest bit. No, _that_ was interesting. And there was no doubt in his mind as to who that young man had been.

_Ah, Prince Zuko. You never cease to amaze._

He had not known, before now, of Zuko's treachery: Azula had not sent that message to him, for her own reasons that he could not, now, comprehend. Very foolhardy, on her part. Why? She never would have done that, withheld such information…. But his swift logic followed that she would rather deliver the news herself, which could only mean that she was racing here as they spoke. Zuko, and undoubtedly Iroh, who Ozai had last heard to be imprisoned. His brother with his foolish values and simpering nature, polluting Zuko with all sorts of worthless thoughts. Ah yes, and as for Zuko…

Zuko had betrayed Azula. He had allied with the enemy. He had aided in destroying a valuable part of his country's defenses. He kept the company of a waterbending peasant and her friends. And Zuko was coming as well_… Just as the shadows had said, within his dream_…

Oh, foolish boy.

It had been Azula that had changed Zuko's wanted posters, as Zuko himself had seen. But unaware of that fact now, Ozai wanted his son very much alive: so he could finally kill the spineless traitor himself. He should have done it two years ago, he knew he should have. First Ursa, then Zuko, would have both taken care of. So why hadn't he?

The messenger gave a cough.

"Is there anything else," the Fire Lord spoke dryly, "That you would like to regale me with?"

The poor man was close to fainting now, but swallowed and managed to stay upright.

"We've recently lost four of our ships to some Water Tribe men…."

Ozai prided himself on the harness he had long fixed upon his temper, the legendary temper of the men in the royal family that brought others to their knees. But Ozai was willing to make an exception in this case, and a blast of lightning pursued the messenger on his heels as he threw himself from the throne room, leaving Ozai there, furious and fuming, rage diluting his blood.

Zuko….

…………………………………………………………………………………………...

Ozai did not know when the dislike had planted itself in his heart, already creeping with hints of darkness. It had been before Azula's birth, but the coming of his second child had certainly fanned and grown it.

Perhaps from the time he saw the boy in Ursa's tired arms, so frail and white, so weak. The eyes so full of sweet softness as the little prince grew, clueless to his father's dismissive attitude. There was just no ambition in the boy; Ozai knew that intuitively as he looked upon him. No will to do what was necessary, and that was critical in a ruler, especially of their bloodline. And his firebending….It was a sorry sight as he got older, paled in comparison to his sister later on in his life.

At two and a half, in some ways, Zuko had already lost his chance at the throne.

But he did not know it. For Zuko, it had been just another day in the palace, jumpy and excited, eagerly waiting for when his little brother was going to come ( because he was certain it would be a brother, of course.) A new little friend that he could teach everything he knew! Someone who would ask him for advice, and talk to him, and, and….so many things!

So Zuko, restless, had been wandering about, having escaped from his nursemaid to walk the halls that he had memorized already, peeking into doors until he found what he wanted behind a huge pair. Yes, there was Dad, sitting at his desk and reading some sort of scroll, a serious expression on as always.

Zuko wriggled in the door, unable to open them any farther, and hurried over to his father, resting his small hands on the Fire Lord's leg and pulling on the robe.

"Dad? Dad?"

Ozai looked down, clearly irritated, at the little boy with such wide eyes. They were Ursa's eyes, he had noted, that bright gold color set amid his own facial structure. The Fire Lord fixed his son under a dark glance.

"I told you not to disturb me, Zuko."

"Sorry," he replied immediately, still looking at his father.

He wanted to cheer him up, most definitely. Dad always looked sad, or mad, or like one of those statues in the garden: stiff. He wondered why; there was no reason to be unhappy. Dad was so strong, so powerful, so in-control, so tough and smart….That was one of many of Zuko's wishes, along with a sword to play with, and one of those neat masks people wore for festivals (blue, that would be a good one…).

He wanted to make his father smile.

Not too much to ask! And Zuko stepped back, a big, glowing smile on his face, remembering a game that Mom had played with him a short time ago.

"Dad!"

"What?" Ozai snapped. Could the boy leave him be? Where was that cursed nurse…?

"Dad, guess how much I love you!"

The foreign word struck Ozai's ear, settled in his mind as he looked at his firstborn child that he would one day burn and banish. The boy spread his short arms out.

"More than this!" he exclaimed, as though trying to encompass something. Zuko seemed dissatisfied with the distance he was able to stretch, and in one scramble was on his indignant father's lap, seizing Ozai's arms and spreading them apart.

"There! That's better." His father's arm span was quite large enough to measure up. "_That _much!"

"Really," Ozai grumbled, folding his arms back in instantly.

"Yup! Really!" And Zuko slid back down, feet hitting the tiles, and he ran out, calling back over his shoulder, "Love you, Dad!"

With those words, something happened that Ozai did not even acknowledge as he returned to his work, that strange, powerful word still echoing in the hall.

In the thick, impenetrable metal and cold calculation that had long grown itself about Ozai's heart and spirit, the faintest, tiniest crack appeared, barely noticeable in the shield. That same microscopic break that would burn like fire and tug at him twelve years later, as he stepped into the Agni Kai arena with every intent to kill Zuko. That small mark that had led Ozai to burn his son instead, furious at his own weakness as well as the boy's.

And then, as he listened to his son's footsteps fade, as that faint hint of mercy and love marred the otherwise perfect example of a lost soul, something in the Spirit World cracked a golden eye open.

_What was that? _

No, it was gone now. But the unsettled feeling remained as the dark shadow had resumed his 100 year wait. Not much longer now.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Azula looked up at the sky once again, the sun's progress charted across it in her mind as the three women boarded the ship, met with bows from the men. It was a small and fast one that would get them to the capital soon enough for her. This was a race against time, and she wasn't going to lose. She wasn't going to lose ever again, she reminded herself, as she touched upon the scar. It drew a few curious glances that were smacked away by a glance from the princess's amber eyes.

"So Azula," Mai spoke dryly from Azula's shoulder, "What are we going to do once we get there?"

"My brother is reckless and overly bold: I can expect nothing else but a brash and frontal assault come the day of the solar eclipse. It should be simple enough to prepare for…"

"Princess Azula?" came a tentative voice behind her.

She turned, incriminating gaze now upon the crew member as they pulled away from shore. The same slow-burning, branding gaze that her father possessed, everyone said.

"What?"

"Ah….we're going to have to switch off ships at the volcanic islands before we reach the Fire Nation. I'm sorry that it will take a bit longer than we anticipated….."

"Why?" was her reply.

Oh, how to put this? The man feigned utmost interest at the blue summer sky, and took a great breath.

"We recently lost the coal mines at Katsu. Someone blew them up."

All three women's eyes widened, but it was only Ty Lee who managed to ask "Who? Who did it?"

"A little boy that people claimed to be the Avatar, along with his companions……."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Hey, this chapter was kind of short, but I wanted to get to the gang finally meeting up with Hakoda in the next chapter. And as for this one? I thought of humanizing Ozai, wondering why he hadn't just killed his son before he became such a trouble maker. Something to remember in the future, because I feel so bad for Zuko. His dad hates him….( But anyway, I hope you liked it. See you in Chapter 33.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Here's Chapter 33. And holy cow, people. Remember me being at 34,000 hits? Now I'm at 39,000. Crazy! Thank you for making this so popular! Meh, I'm itching to get to the final battles (yes, plural. It'll be pretty busy in a few chapters!) But bear with me while I set up the story and move everything in place. Thank you, enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 33

Katara examined the little stand, Toph next to her in the streets. Okay, so they had finally reached the point to meet Hakoda. The little seaside town was, overall, like every other one they had ever visited: nothing too specail. Now what was there left to do? Just wait, that was all. While there was really no time for _waiting_ when the world was about to collapse in on itself, Katara reminded herself to have patience.

_Just be patient, Dad will be here soon_.

And where had Sokka, Suki and Aang gone? She figured that Zuko and Iroh would be sitting down by the docks waiting and trying to explain Appa to passersby. But where had those three gotten off to? Turn one corner and they just disappear. Although Suki and Sokka may have done it on purpose….Katara's coloring rose again.

"May I help you, young ones?" The woman at the stand leaned forward on her elbows, regarding Toph from an observational angle. Toph folded her arms in response, and Katara turned to look at the merchandise.

"Mm. Nice hairpins you have here," Katara leaned over the little collection.

"Oh yes. They're made from tortoise-crab shells, very exquisite."

Katara plucked one up and handed it to Toph, who ran her blunt fingers over it, feeling the smooth surface, the grooves, and the sharp edge where it fixed up the hair.

"Oh, hold still for a second…," Katara smiled, and in one quick motion, she pulled free the ribbon on Toph's hair.

"Sugarqueen, what are you…?"

"Hmpf! There we go. You're always hiding behind those bangs," Katara commented lightly, sweeping Toph's mass of dark, rather tangled locks into a knot at the back of her head. The pin was carved into a flower of some kind: even scowling, Katara had to admit that Toph looked very cute.

"Isn't she pretty?"

The woman smiled. "Yes indeed."

Toph scrunched her nose, and the water girl kept browsing.

One other object caught her interest, a little golden box with intricate carvings on it and a clasp holding it shut. Curious, Katara opened it and then sneezed explosively as something tickled her nose: Toph laughed at the sound. Katara looked at the woman when she was done sniffling, holding the stuff forward.

"What is this?"

"Ah, facial powder from the Fire Nation. As if those women needed to get any paler…."

"Hm."

Katara rubbed a bit of the fine dust onto her brown fingers, noting that they lightened considerably, and thinking. Then slapped down her coins in front of the vendor.

"I'll take it."

"Wonderful. Nothing like a satisfied customer! How about the hairpin, does your friend want to keep it?"

The waterbender grinned as Toph promptly plucked the pin out of its place and set it back down before the woman, then motioned for them to keep going. The older girl gave a distracted "Thanks" before they continued on their way, two "sisters" out for the day.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Suki was not one to become suspicious very easily, but like Katara she would say that her curiosity was easy to arouse. Especially when Sokka had come up next to her, hands folded behind his back and a grin on his face, and said quietly, "Close your eyes."

"Huh?"

"Just do it, okay?" To enforce the action, he lifted up one of her hands and placed it over her gray-blue eyes. His hands smelt warm, like rough leather, as the fingers brushed her face. But obediently, she covered her other eye as well.

There was a delighted, muffled chuckle from Sokka, and Suki frowned as she heard a rustling. What in the world had he bought? Was it a dress or something? That would be lovely, she supposed. Any clothing was a welcome alternative to the outfit she had been wearing for weeks on end. No, that's not like Sokka…._Oh, no, I'll bet he's going to do something ridiculous, I'll bet he found some weird little artifact and he…_

"Open your eyes!" came his elated voice.

"Already?"

"Yes! Yes! Come on, open them!"

Suki played along, and her eyes widened far beyond what she had been planning as she looked at him, standing there in the streets. He held the two objects in front of him, and flicked his wrists.

_Snap._

And like twin suns rising, the golden fans flared open.

Suki gasped slightly, taking the fans into her hands with the care one would show a delicate blossom, a positively giddy expression on her face combating the tears in her eyes while she drank in their details. It was like being home again, home on Kyoshi with her friends, in their long hours of practice together. She looked at Sokka, unable to ask or say anything as she dotingly ran a finger along the perfect edges.

And Sokka smiled as well. He knew that most other women would have clocked their lover or husband upside the head if the man gave them a weapon as a gift. But Suki, he reminded himself, was not "other women": Because, really, it took a warrior to understand how much weapons meant. A warrior who had needed to rely on their own skill and strength, not an external element, to gain their prowess.

The two golden fans began to dance about like autumn leaves as Suki spun, slicing the air with them and taking in the sight of their flashes in the gleaming sunlight.

Odd, how the light itself took on such a wonderful hue as it slanted between the roofs of the little town. Sokka wished he could have found the armor that accompanied the fans, but finding them resting in the shop had so shocked him that he had grabbed them in excitement and gotten to her as soon as possible.

Her smile. He wanted to lock it away and save it somewhere as she beamed.

And although she was not visible in the blue sky of the day, masked until night-fall, the moon bid that the sun shine even brighter upon the boy she so loved, and her heart leapt in joy as his did.

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

Aang looked around, curious as to where everyone had gone. Had they left him on purpose or something? It's not as if this town was all that big…and when was lunch going to be?

"I guess it's just you and me for now, Momo," he shrugged to the lemur hanging on his staff. The creature gave an odd little noise, looking at him with huge emerald eyes and his ears turned forwards. Aang looked back, a suspicious tone in his voice as he tapped the lemur on the head.

"Unless you would rather be with Zuko…"

True, the golden eyed human was very warm to sit on the head of, but the lemur ultimately chose to stay beside his Avatar boy. Until something else caught his interest, at least.

And the pair walked down the street, Aang keeping his eyes peeled for any member of his group, and his senses aware. While he didn't find Katara, Toph or Sokka anywhere, his nose caught something, and his stomach agreed to the aroma as he chased it through the streets. Hmm, what was it? Something being cooked, slowly cooked to delicious perfection…ah, there it was!

Aang spotted the stand as a customer walked away from it, carrying what looked like some kind of vegetable, and he breezed over, coming to a halt in front of the stand.

"Excuse me? Sir?"

The short man tending the produce stand gave him a quick glance over the shoulder, turning from steaming what looked like a potato over the little fire he had burning, then looked back at what he was cooking.

And then he froze, his back to Aang stiffening like he had just gotten jabbed by something.

He turned back to look at the Avatar, mouth open to scream, when the boy opened his own mouth first.

"Oh wow, potatoes, huh? I love those; I can never find them anywhere. Can I have a roasted one, please?"

Momo chattered at the man, who made a weird sort of whimper in the back of his throat and began nervously getting Aang his potato.

"Yes…potato…right. Take it easy, I'm…working on it. Potatoes, right." There was a pause, and his gaze suddenly hardened as he looked at the boy, who was oblivious to the man's discomfort. He finished, "Much hardier than cabbages."

"Cabbages, huh? I like cabbages too," the Avatar shrugged, paying the strange man and walking away, giving part of his meal to the jabbering little beast on his shoulder.

The man sat down, looking in open mouthed awe at the boy's receding figure. He had somehow expected the boy to be much more unpleasant. Much less friendly. Hard to imagine that he was going to save the world.

_Well_, he supposed. _Maybe potatoes did taste better_…….

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko blinked the sleep from his eyes, unwillingly relaxing in the fur of the bison that rested its fluffy form under him. It was odd how the bison took to him, granted that it seems to have a natural fear of fire: that was probably the only reason it had been scared of that dragon, after all.

But Zuko wasn't a dragon and he seemed to lack the intimidation factor all together. Both the pesky lemur _and_ the bison had taken a shine to him: Zuko figured that the bison remembered who had rescued him under Lake Laogai. But as for the lemur? Zuko could never be sure of that one.

Appa's huge lungs sucked in another breath, which lifted the firebender a good few feet into the air from his laying spot in the hairy back.

He sighed and sat up, looking down at his uncle.

"Uncle."

Iroh turned to look up at his nephew, one silver eyebrow raised.

"Yes, Zuko?"

"Do you think that the Avatar has improved his firebending enough?"

Iroh had to consider that. Recalling that the boy couldn't light a match a short time ago, he had indeed progressed phenomenally. But he knew that that wasn't Zuko's real question. In truth, Iroh thought it was more along the lines of, "Are we prepared for what we are about to attempt?"

And that, Iroh was not sure of. He sighed heartily.

"The boy has come a long way thanks to you. I would not call it "mastery," but it is progress and enthusiasm which should please a teacher most."

Well, the airbender was certainly not short on enthusiasm, sitting attentively and prepared to absorb everything Zuko could teach him.

_Everything he knew….._

"I believe he finds you to be more of a teacher that me, Uncle. I simply step in occasionally." And really, that was the most that he wanted. He wanted to push away the whole "family" idea, but the ties were appearing faster than the prince could sever them, much to Zuko's dismay. Iroh laughed.

"Not his teacher, huh? He referred to you as "Sifu Zuko" to me just yesterday."

"Hmm." That was the exiled prince's only reply, but it was enough to convey his amusement. _Sifu_ Zuko. It had an oddly appealing ring to it.

"Hey! Hey!" called a familiar voice as he twisted his head about to spot the two female benders of the group walking over. The waterbender was carrying a bag, presumably loaded with worthless items, and his uncle waved to them cheerily.

"Ah, Miss Katara! Miss Toph! Good to see you back so soon. Did you find anything?"

"Oh, a few nice imports."

Toph snorted. What did they need those for, anyway?

"No sign of the ship?" the water girl continued to inquire.

"None," Zuko replied flatly.

He spoke too soon.

The bison gave a sudden grunt, lifting to its feet quickly as though it sensed something. This sent Zuko sliding down the side to land haphazardly on his own feet, agitated at the beast as he walked around to its front to look into the huge face.

"What is it now…."

"Hey!" Katara shouted, extending one arm forwards. Toph turned towards her friend.

"What?"

"I think that's a ship out on the horizon. There's the outline of it…hard to tell..."

Toph leaned down, over the edge of the dock, and placed one hand in the cool salt water as it lapped against her skin. The problem with the ocean was that, unlike standing water, it had its own voice, and it was hard to feel out the ripples in the water that she wanted. Luckily water itself made vibrations clearer, although not as clear as earth did.

"Yep, something's out there. Something big."

"Now I can make it out. Looks like a Fire Navy ship to me…"

"Where are your eyes, water girl? There's more than one ship out there."

Katara looked over at Zuko with an undecided expression. Yes, recently he had switched to 'water girl', which at least acknowledged her gender. But did he have to be so demeaning?

"Hey, what's going on?" Perfect, there were Sokka and Suki walking towards them.

"We've spotted several Fire navy ships out there," Iroh responded before Katara was able to, "Although it looks like a fleet of some kind."

"So it's not Dad?" Sokka asked, crestfallen and worried.

"I don't think so…."

They watched the massive ship, striding across the easy waves like a large black dorsal fin and flanked by several others, and all prepared themselves for the worst. They could never catch a break. It figures that the Fire Navy would just have to stop at this little, insignificant seaside town…..a massive plume of inky black smoke spewed from the stacks, staining the sky as the lead of the armada eased itself expertly into the bay, into the small docking area.

And the hull swung open, exactly like that nightmarish day in the South Pole so long ago. Zuko wondered, briefly, how much more frightening it had been for those people, when it had been _him _emerging from the iron monster. After all, they had been totally defenseless.

And through the clearing smoke, emerged what looked like three men. The first of who threw his arms up and shouted…..

"What, do my children not recognize their own father?"

Sokka decided to gape later at the fleet and small army his father had managed to amass somehow, but now he had more important things to do.

Such as sprint up the docks alongside his sister and tackle their father, death grips around him as all three laughed.

"Oof! You two are far too old to do that to me….."

"Oh, make an exception just this once," his daughter laughed as they got to their feet.

Zuko considered. This reunion was very much like the one at Katsu, where the Avatar's friends had all wrapped themselves together and exchanged a few sentimental words. The water girl, after all, had called them a family.

He walked up to the man and nodded in acknowledgement. To which Hakoda grinned: his opinion on firebenders, while still not a rosy one, had improved some, and he clapped the boy on the shoulder.

"So I see you took care of 'em, huh? Good to see you again."

Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, it's you," Toph commented separately, trudging up to stand before Kuei. His vibrations felt a little different. Somehow….freer. She heard the man laugh in response, and Bosco snort at his side as the girl reached forward to pat the satin head.

"Oh, well, I've been having a wonderful time aboard Captain Hakoda's ship. I should tell you about how we acquired the…."

"JEONG JEONG??" Aang gaped at the third man standing there, unable to believe it. In fact, if Katara and Sokka had not been giving the man the same flabbergasted look, Aang would have been inclined to think he was hallucinating.

Jeong Jeong nodded.

"I can see you have attained a better hold on your elements, Avatar."

"How did you know…"

"Your stance is firmer. Your breath is more level, your movements are smoother. Earth, fire and water already? I am impressed."

Aang beamed to hear it from the deserter, looked over at the crowd they where drawing, and back to the little group.

"Well, I think it's best we get going now….we have a lot of planning to do."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Smellerbee remembered when she had joined Jet's Freedom Fighters, although the memory was hard to pick out of her mind. Very faint, it had happened when she was young. In fact, there were days when she thought she had been one of Jet's group forever: it's not as if she could really remember her parents.

But Longshot could remember his. And she definitely could remember the day she had met him.

He hadn't talked then, either. Jet had discovered him in the burning village as they came through with the Duke and Pipsqueak, Smellerbee dark-eyed and curious beside him as they spotted the tall boy. Longshot hadn't drawn away in fear: he had grabbed a flaming branch and brandished it in front of him, eyes level and determined.

He had taken a swipe at Jet that barely missed as the older boy twisted aside, and Jet had laughed.

"I like you, kid. You got spirit."

They didn't know why he never spoke. A few thought it was losing his parents that had made him do that. Many figured that he couldn't speak at all. Either way, it was a problem at times on their missions. A problem that Smellerbee had set out to fix, because she knew you needed to know your teammates as well as yourself in order to stay alive. What she found in her studies was very interesting indeed.

He was actually really expressive, every glance of the eye, turn of the head, movement of his hand meaning something. And as Smellerbee came to understand his "language," she had reveled in it. That it was her secret and nobody else could understand him. Occasionally, she would translate:

_"He means that the pork-chicken tastes bad."_

_"No, he wants you to pull on the lever there."_

_"Longshot says not to worry. We'll figure something out."_

_"That means he doesn't like you, buster."_

But usually she would laugh like they were sharing a private joke. And that was a good enough friendship for her.

So when she had first heard his voice, she had nearly fallen from the tree in shock, and then nearly floated away with joy. Like she had acquired a new, even better secret treasure. She was privileged. It hadn't been much, just a "Thank you, Smellerbee."

But wow, did it make her day.

So now here they all were, riding along with that Jin girl, and Smellerbee watched in mild amusement as the young woman from Ba Sing Se tried to speak with him. He was responsive, nods or looks from his dark eyes speaking back to her. Signs that Jin just couldn't read.

"Don't worry, it doesn't mean he dislikes you," Smellerbee reassured casually. "He just doesn't like to talk."

"Oh," Jin muttered, green eyes looking at the back of her ostrich-horses' head before wandering over to look at Jet.

"Does he speak to you?" she asked quietly.

Jet considered.

"A few times, yeah. But, you know, Longshot is…. Longshot. I think it would be weird if he _did_ speak."

Jin laughed a bit, and then noticed that Jet's gaze had wandered away from her again, to look down the road with a sort of distant mist to his dark eyes.

"So what's your story, then?"

"Hm? Me?"

Jin nodded. Now she was going to dive headlong into the riddle that this guy seemed to be. Jin was never good at riddles, but it was worth a shot.

"You wouldn't be interested."

"Try me."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Unbeknownst to Aang's party, another reunion between father and child took place shortly afterward theirs. But, Mai and Ty Lee would assure, it was far from heartwarming.

The pink-garbed acrobat looked over at Azula as the Fire Nation capital rose into view from the deck, perched above the sea and imposing. Home.

No, she reconsidered, not really Mai's home…. that was back in Omashu. And Ty Lee still thought that she would have liked to be back at the circus more, performing and leaping about with no thoughts of war and death.

So, it was just Azula's home.

But for someone going to see her father, going home, Azula almost looked scared. She kept clawing at the burn, a habit which Ty Lee had long giving up hope of Azula breaking. She was going to ruin her face like that….

"Don't say anything," Azula snapped sharply as the metal hull broke open and they stepped out, Ty Lee's legs a slight bit unsteady from the journey. She wished they would stop wobbling, ordering herself to stand tall before her Fire Lord. What about her other friend? If Mai was afraid, she did not show it.

But as for Ty Lee, Lord Ozai had always scared her. He was just so imposing, like a raging fire taken the shape of a man, and those dark eyes were so….eerie.

She heard Azula take in a quick breath beside her, and Ty Lee's soft eyes looked up the docks. She too stiffened.

Like a low-moving storm wrapped in blood-red robes, towering and solid yet as swift and light as a flitting blaze, Ozai stepped forward. He strode along the docks without the company of any sort of armed guard: Ozai refused to shield himself like a coward behind the bodies of worthless soldiers, as so many other nobles tended to do.

His hair, his crown, framing his set face, one with an unreadable expression on it as he stepped forward, and came to a halt before his daughter.

His ebony eyes took in the sight of the burn on his second-born's face, the look in her own amber eyes, and the way she held herself. Who was this girl? He needed to consider it for a moment. There was something gone from her aura, something damaged about it, as she bowed before him.

"I know why you're here," he spoke up flatly, as Azula kept her head down. "And I'm sure you have _quite_ a bit to tell me."

Azula kept her gaze low as they proceeded to the palace, Ty Lee and Mai looking about the streets to see what had changed.

Many more poor than in the years prior, hiding in the shadows as the rich wore their thick clothing in the hot sun. The war's expenses had taken quite a lot from the city, they could tell.

And as they walked steadily along, both of Azula's companions felt more as though they were on a very slippery slope instead.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Yeah, that's all for now. Don't worry; I'm gearing up for some action soon! And I want to thank all of you for all of your reviews. Everything helps! Feel free to give tips, constructive criticism, whatever you like. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, see you in 34.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Wahoo, on with the show! Oh, I'm having so much fun writing this. Still, I'm looking forward to the real third season…I can only guess how things will turn out! XD But thank you for all of your wonderful reviews, and I will try and get to the action ASAP. This final battle is going to be a chore to write…..**

Chapter 34

Azula looked down at her long-fingered hands, pale and strong but shaking very slightly. Musical gifts, the people of the court had said. With fingers that nimble and quick, she could charm the birds from their nests if she were to take up an instrument.

Ozai had flat out refused, hoarding her time to chisel down her firebending to perfection.

Azula had liked that very much: firebending made her feel invincible.

She certainly didn't feel that way now, as she was seated before her father's throne unaccompanied by Mai and Ty Lee. She touched her forehead to the cool floor, realizing how hot her face was, and stayed bowed as Ozai spoke.

"Azula, I need not ask you to explain yourself. Immediately."

She took in a breath, trying to calm the fires of fear circulating through her. Where to start? Well, with Zuko, where else?

"Zuko…was a different person than I expected him to be. When I asked him to…"

"You asked him to what?" her father's voice rang, clear and hinting at very little emotion.

"I ordered him to execute Uncle Iroh. You said yourself that Uncle Iroh was a traitor, and I wanted to see how loyal Zuko really was."

Ozai made a disgusted sound and shook his head. "Judging from that scar on your face," (and Azula's hand flew to it to cover it) "things did not go as expected."

His daughter shook her head, and the intimidation behind her eyes was painfully obvious.

"He ran, instead. He escaped with the Avatar." _And he redirected her lightning. How had he learned how to do that? When had he ever been taught that?_

"So you saw it fit to keep me in ignorance of my own son's actions, and assume that I would welcome you with open arms despite your failure."

Azula did not flinch, but the word stung in her ears. Ozai had never said she had failed before, probably because perfect Azula never had. Failure, that was Zuko's to excel in.

Ozai noted the effect of his words upon the girl before he continued.

"I'm disappointed, Azula. Very disappointed; I assumed you to be better than Prince Zuko…. but no matter. You'll get your chance to redeem yourself."

Azula looked up slightly, and nodded. "I am here to do your bidding."

_Obedience. Excellent_.

"I'm under the assumption that the Avatar is going to lead some sort of attack against us, yes?"

"Yes. On the day of the Black Sun."

Ozai raised an eyebrow, wondering how the Avatar had discovered such information, and nodded as it registered.

"And I suspect we are to anticipate a full frontal assault?"

"You and I both know that my brother is no strategist. And neither are any of those children or uncle.(_After all,_ Azula thought, _all Uncle had done was hammer away at the wall of Ba_ _Sing Se, instead of finding a way around it._) He will simply charge head-long into any fight like a reckless ox-bear."

Yes, the fool probably would. His brother, he was not so certain. But it could be dealt with. Ozai convinced himself that there was nothing to fear from this slight interruption in their plans. Nothing to fear at all. This was not the tired nightmare world of his own mind: this was the realm where he was in control of everything, without question.

"And when you see him, when he comes here…. Azula?"

"Yes, father?"

"I want you to kill him. I will deal with the Avatar, but I want it to your hand by which Zuko dies."

_I want to see which one of you is really the strongest. Because you've put doubts in my head, Princess Azula. Let us witness this last confrontation between you two rivals. Don't look so surprised. _Something, though it was very slight, winced in the recesses of his spirit, and Ozai crushed the strange rebellion quickly. He waited for his daughter to respond.

"It will be my pleasure, Lord Ozai."

And that, at least, the silver-tongued girl knew, was the truth.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Jet…" Jin tried to whisper as softly as possible through the dark of the forest night.

"Shh," was the response it solicited, and Jin swallowed her question. Oh, she wished her heart would shut up, that her palms would stop sweating somehow. It was a miracle she hadn't fallen.

Jet could not believe their luck, really he couldn't. To have caught up with the slave caravan was impressive, even in the amount of time it had taken them. Why where they moving so slowly?

_To hastily bury the bodies of those who didn't make it_, he replied to himself disgustedly.

Below, a solider in Fire Nation armor turned the spit they where roasting some sort of meat on, the cool night air carrying the scent away into the trees. One of the men cracked out a stiffness in his back from the marching of the day.

"That sounded like it hurt," his companion laughed harshly.

"I'm becoming far too old for this, Hakan. Don't act so smug, you'll be this way before you know it."

"Ha? Him? Hakan'll die long before then, the way he behaves in combat."

The youngest one of the group smiled devilishly in the firelight, and then turned to look back at the prisoners with a casual glance.

"So," he shrugged, "When are we going to get to Katsu, do you suppose?"

"It's been taking forever and we still have the Han mountains to cross…"

The one named Hakan cursed aloud at the news, wishing their company hadn't been foolish enough to buy the slaves off of those Earth Kingdom men. The other groups at their fires turned to stare at his outburst, and then back to their own business.

Before, the slaves, the "political prisoners," as the guys had called them, had all looked like they would fetch good prices. Especially that one girl and her mother….but now Hakan wondered if these wretched people where worth the effort. Probably not.

The solider leaned in to get a portion of his dinner, when…

He heard the faintest of rustlings from somewhere.

A leaf landed on his hand, fluttering down.

He looked up at the forest canopy.

Curiosity turned to wide-eyed terror as the shadow came rushing down from the tree tops, falling upon him like a shroud.

The men all leapt to their feet as the shadowed forest spirit pounced among them, and there was the ugly sound of a sword striking, a cry, a clashing...

"What the….."

"It's an ambush!!"

One of the soldiers reached for his bow, but a silent shaft felled him before he completed the action as it shot from the bottomless dark outside the ring of firelight.

_Fwoosh!_

A smaller spirit sped along, and like some dark form of sorcery, the torches all extinguished. There was a fumbling, a shouting, as the men scrambled to light them again. More arrows whistling through the air. One man, a firebender, managed to ignite a breath of fire in his hands.

To look directly into a pair of very dark eyes.

There was a crash of steel as both men drew their blades, Jet's with a thin lace of blood along its edge as they met. He leapt left, ducking under the path of the weapon as it screamed by and throwing his weight into the man's side, sending him flying backwards and advancing.

There was an explosion of fire, the Freedom Fighter cleared it and came crashing down, swords colliding yet again.

He briefly had to wonder how everybody else was doing.

Smellerbee supposed she could have had a better fighting partner than the Jin girl, but there was no time to complain as she sprang, her wiry frame knocking down a pair of men in the semi-dark.

A rouge blaze somewhere had managed to ignite the dry grass, and a ring of fire was eating its path out around the fight. It didn't matter how much light there was: Smellerbee had eyes like a sparrow-cat's anyway, and she took a second swing at the man nearest her after he had landed a good blow against her side.

Another arrow sped by, in the spot Smellerbee had been only moments before. _Whew, that was close._

Now where had her partner gone?

"Huian! Huian!" Jin cried, running and stumbling to reach her friend. The emaciated girl with large, glass-green eyes leapt to her feet as well and reached out as much as her chains would allow her to embrace this strange apparition, but she screamed before that happened.

"Jin, behind you!"

A gasp caught in the girl's throat when she twisted to face the death so near, begging for her body to move, to fight, to do something besides just stand there and do nothing. She shielded herself, clenching her eyes shut, wishing she had known her place and stayed where she belonged….

There was a dull slicing like thick meat being cut, and a warmth spattered her cheek and left arm.

Jin cracked an eye open, to see Jet's heaving shoulders from having rushed to her, sword out from having cut her attacker down like wheat. Jin's eyes got wider as she watched the body of the man who had been about to kill her topple. The man who had saved her life looked back and grinned slyly.

"I don't let my teammates die, Jin. Get it? I owed you one anyway."

He moved forward, going as quickly as possible through the chains of the small group of prisoners, and Huian in too much shock to ask questions at this point.

"Tao, help me out here!"

The Earth Kingdom man pushed through the soldiers who had yet to run away into the forest, snatching up his wife and daughter as desperate man lost at sea clings to a board. Jin watched Smellerbee and Longshot through the trees, dropping down from the branches they moved about through like birds. Jet twisted open the last shackle, and turned to Jin.

"Alright, that will…."

And then there was another deadly whisper, and Jet let out a grunt as the arrow embedded itself in his shoulder with a sickening, soft 'thump' like a twisted heartbeat. He cursed his luck, turning as the archer, form dusted by firelight, pulled the bow back again. And Jet sighed.

_Well, there are worse ways to die. _He braced himself for it.

THUD!

A rocking sound as the earth suddenly reeled back and crashed into the archer from the right, the attack a little haphazard but accurate enough as it smashed into his body.

He was pummeled by another blow when compounded chunk of stone rocketed from the ground and crushed down onto him. There was a painful crunch that could have been his arm breaking.

And a strand of brown hair was blown from dark green eyes in satisfaction as they turned back to Jet, and Jin dropped down to soak up the blood with shaking hands.

She let out a shuddering sigh, exhausted from the sudden burst of earthbending.

"O-owed y-you one an-anyway," she stuttered with a smile.

Through gritted teeth, Jet grinned back.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko was not terribly pleased, to tell the truth, to be back on a ship. It was like an animal being shoved back into his cage, really. The same galley, the same quarters, the same smell in the furnaces.

However, he grudgingly found that the company was much better this time around. And so was the food.

Katara had, without Zuko's knowledge, asked Iroh a few days prior what Zuko's favorite foods were, what sort of spices and flavors he liked. "To keep him in as good a mood as possible," had been her explanation to the amused man. So it secretly baffled the Fire Prince that he would find sun spice, or sliced summer fish, or roasted sweet yams on his plate. Sure, all of that was easily obtained, but it was a surprise. A welcome one, but a surprise.

For example, this morning's breakfast was cloud biscuits, very light and fluffy to the taste, the taste that took him back to when he was five or so. Not expertly prepared, of course, but everyone seemed to appreciate them.

"Taste good?"

Zuko looked to his left to see that the blind little earthbender was seated next to him out on deck, and he swallowed before speaking.

"Shouldn't you be inside with the others?"

"Shouldn't you?" she responded flippantly before digging into her breakfast. "I don't like being inside, Katara said it was okay." She didn't bother swallowing, so it came out sort of muffled.

"Hmpf."

Both continued to eat their breakfast, Toph enjoying the sea breeze for a while in silence. She had never really gotten to travel on a boat before. Yes, it was hard to "see" sometimes, but the smell of the air and the calm around her was like a cool, thin blanket on a hot summer night.

"So," she spoke up again, "Sokka tells me you weren't always too friendly."

_Agni help me, I certainly hoped I'm not" friendly" now_, Zuko thought to himself. Just the word and the chipper, happy image it recalled repulsed him. The blind earthbender laughed as she remembered something.

"He said you where an angry freak with a ponytail."

"What?" the boy snapped back. He was going to kill that buffoon when he next saw him….

Then, to his shock, a hand shot up and ruffled the thick dark hair that had grown far too long for Zuko's own liking. He was going to have to do something about that.

"You don't have a ponytail now, I notice." She withdrew her hand, memorizing the texture out of habit.

"How very observant of you," he muttered, brushing crumbs off of his shirt as he rose to leave.

"Well, that was the past. I think you're okay now."

"Really? Glad to know that I've attained your approval." He rolled his eyes.

"Don't get sarcastic with me. I'm trying to be nice to you."

Zuko smirked as the two powerful egos rammed against each other stubbornly. "And why is that?"

Toph smirked back, which shocked Zuko. The girl was blind, wasn't she? How did she know what his expressions were?

"Sugarqueen made me promise to be. But it's not too hard, I guess. I mean, Twinkletoes is getting better at firebending all the time thanks to you."

"Twinkletoes…." What a humiliating name. Almost worse that "Zuzu." _Almost. _At least the little girl used it in an endearing manner towards the Avatar. Toph continued.

"So yeah, anyway, about being a good guy. Personally, when I found out that you'd betrayed your uncle, I was really mad."

"Now, I can't imagine why."

"Your uncle told me once that he would be there for you whenever you needed him. He cares about you, you know, and he's willing to follow you down whatever path you take. That's a sign of really caring about somebody…."

_And as for her?_ Toph had long ago promised that she would follow "her family," that she would follow Aang, to the ends of the earth and beyond. _As corny as that sounds._

"And I betrayed him." Zuko finished the girl's thought for her, much to Toph's surprise.

He had turned his back on the only person in the entire world that cared about his well-being. Why? Because he had been selfish and blind, that was why: and it was sad that it had nearly taken Iroh's death to see it.

"Well, don't worry now."

_What?_

"Well, you've sort of become one of us. Don't know when it happened, but it did…somehow. **Sheesh,**" And then Toph hopped up and walked off, ready to find Aang. He should have been practicing waterbending with Katara about now.

Zuko watched her back recede, and then looked out at the ocean once again.

"_To love and care about something is a choice, Zuko. Don't think it's involuntary: because if it was, then love would be nothing more than a basic instinct. And love is so much more…."_

So what had he chosen? The question came back again, as it had rung in his head in the throne room when he made one of the most important decisions of his life.

He looked down and picked off the rest of the crumbs, the wind pulling at his hair. He figured he should go and find Uncle, then probably aid the Avatar in his firebending.

Maybe the buffoon would be working down in the furnaces; Zuko could go there and address the "angry freak with a ponytail" comment. Or perhaps find out what the water girl was making for lunch. Normal things to do within a family.

What had he chosen?

_Right,_ he thought absentmindedly. _So strangely right._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Katara yanked at the water from the side of the ship and it flew into the air, a silver bird, pirouetting once before she brought it down to her, pulling it in and snapping it out. Aang threw his arms upwards, freezing a shield that the water whip deflected off of.

"Here I come!" Katara cried out, delighted as she sprinted forwards, twirling the water whip in a tight figure eight on both sides to give it momentum. Aang turned away from it at the last minute, and jerked at the water his teacher was holding.

Katara felt it slid coolly from her grasp and into Aang's, eyes widening as a blade of ice sped out at her. _Snick!_ She shot a hand forward and split it cleanly in two.

_Good. Very very good_.

She straightened, lowered her defenses, causing Aang to do the same, and she walked over to him. He looked a little distant today, but his bending was precise enough. Was he bored or something?

"You know, you should try using your waterbending and earthbending to fight with Zuko. Or Iroh, whichever. I mean, after all, the Fire Lord's just going to be firebending, right?"

"Hmm…" Aang nodded distractedly.

He needed the Avatar state to beat Ozai too, simple as that. And he still hadn't been able to go into it, unable to tap that reservoir of power just below the surface. Chakras, chakras, stupid blocked chakras.

Well, he was going to solve that problem right now.

"Katara?"

"Yeah Aang?" She looked at him, wringing out her long hair from getting it soaked. Aang had actually managed to sweep her overboard! It hadn't been a problem, she had just rode a current back up again, but the look on Aang's face had been well worth any trouble.

"I…I wanted to talk to you about something…."

Okay, one of **these** talks. The kind that required them both to sit down and be serious. Katara nodded for him to continue as she walked to the rail of the ship and folded her arms, looking down into the white wake the ship left.

"Well, it's actually about, um, something Guru Pahtik told me. And I just wanted to know what you thought."

Katara began fumbling around in her brain for all of the fancy, eloquent words she knew, so that she could string them together and give a worthwhile response. She wasn't expecting what he asked, the same question he had once asked Sokka.

"What do you think about letting go of love? No, wait, you know what? Scratch that: what do you think about love in general?"

Well, that one blew her off her feet. And she just felt so awkward being asked it. How to respond to something like that? Katara herself wasn't even entirely sure of what love was, it was so complicated in its beauty.

Aang considered as he awaited a response. If he could explain color to a blind girl, Katara should be able to explain love to him, right?

Katara breathed a composing sigh.

"Mom told me that love was patience and strength. Love will wait forever, love protects, and love brings hope. It…it heals, I guess. And it drives away fears. It grounds you."

_Grounds you, huh?_

Katara looked into Aang's face to see if this was helping any. "When you love someone, you care about them before yourself, and what brings them joy brings you joy too. And love is something you can't let go of, uh… because I think that letting go of someone you love is like letting go of half of your heart."

She ended with a shrug, hoping he hadn't had very high expectations.

Aang looked up at her, just a slight tilt of the head. He expected that he was getting taller, actually, so he didn't need to look up very much. Into her blue eyes. Those pretty, entrancing eyes like the ocean. And then he realized that it wasn't the color that made her eyes so beautiful.

Or what made Toph's that way, either. It was the spirit behind them.

Katara gave him strength and hope, she always had. She was always willing to protect and teach him, and always willing to make room in her heart for one more person to get in there. He wanted her to be happy, simple as that, and he knew that that was more than an "earthly attachment." Katara, who would always stand behind him no matter what.

But as for Toph? Toph was a totally different story. Toph kept her heart closed to all but a very privileged few, Toph with a love of freedom characteristic of an airbender. Toph, who had told him it was alright to be afraid, and had in effect driven away his fears. Toph, who stood beside him no matter what.

And she grounded him, pulled him back in whenever she thought he had strayed too far. Aang wanted her to be happy…. but the difference was that he wanted it to be him that made her so. Because he knew that no one else could. He understood her better than anybody else, somehow.

Katara and Toph. He would let go of neither. Ever.

And Katara pulled him into a comforting hug for a few seconds, a few moments to let him know that she would be there if he ever needed her. Because, Aang understood, that's what families do.

"Okay, okay, break it up you two! It's my turn!" came the earthbender's voice. She was completely filthy, covered head to toe in coal dust as she carried an armload of it. Bato had helped her bring it up, and now she was going to see what it could do.

Aang smiled at her as Katara patted him on the shoulder and stepped back to watch.

Toph turned, pushing her sooty hair away from her face, and Aang's heart warmed like a soft, comforting cup of Iroh's tea. Earthbending, his favorite style next to airbending. It always had been.

He smiled widened and he got to work.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jeong Jeong had been told something by his father once. For some reason, as he watched the Fire Prince guide the Avatar in his bending, the thought returned to him on the sea wind.

"_There is no difference in evils, son, between those who commit it and those who are complacent while it occurs. No difference, except that the complacent ones are surprised when their karma shows their wrongdoings."_

But when Jeong Jeong had withdrawn his hand from the war, he had not felt as though he was being complacent. He was being defiant, of course. He was a fugitive, he suffered after his desertion, but he would not gamble and play with lives any longer.

It was a moral stance, not complacency. And that was good enough for him.

For a while, at least.

Maybe it had been the burning town that he had passed, able to see the black smoke rising like a shadowy dawn through the sky. Evading the troop of soldiers as they marched through, a group of captive women and children sobbing as they passed him. The poor huddled in the streets, with all the wealth of the country gone to feed the hungry beast of war.

Maybe it had been seeing the Avatar, the little boy that had been sent as their savior. Just a little boy who was too confident for his own good. But he had seen the strength of the airbender, buried somewhere in there.

Whatever it was, Jeong Jeong had discovered what it was to truly be torn apart. The force of his desire to no longer fight these pointless wars, conflicting with the voices who cried out injustice. Compared to it, the burden of fire paled.

So Jeong Jeong had laughed at himself, finally, setting down a deal that he knew would never fall in favor of the war.

_Alright then, spirits_, He had spoken to the sky one morning. _If you wish to prod me so, then send me a sign. Send me some hint that there is but one brave man who is willing to stand against odds, one who has not had all the fight beaten out of him, and I can assure you my aid._

Jeong Jeong knew that would never happen. These people had all given up long ago, despite that faint glimmer the Avatar had briefly ignited in him.

But as Jeong Jeong had discovered, the spirits where not without their wiles.

No, they where quite clear when they wanted to be. Jeong Jeong had thought that as he watched the whale tooth knife bury in his attacker's arm that day.

The spirits had sent him exactly what he had dared them to.

They had sent Hakoda.

And Jeong Jeong knew when to listen.

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

Katara looked down into her dinner, not quite sure of how to feel. She had tried very hard with this meal, spent hours trying to get it absolutely perfect for everybody, trying to remember exactly what her friends and family liked for dinner, becoming upset to find that the storage did not have what she needed.

And she had to reflect on why she was doing all this to begin with.

It had been last week, as she had let her mind wander while she was waterbending by herself in the twilight of the ocean day. Just random stuff, like what to work on with Aang, what Sokka and Suki where probably doing, how Dad was planning to have this invasion of the Fire Nation work. How much longer until the eclipse? Only a little over a week, she had figured.

Last on her list of priorities had been what to make them all for meals, once they traveled back to the Earth Kingdom. Would they have enough food in the storage for the next few weeks? Next month, possibly?

And then she had let the water slide from her control with a splash as something struck her with the force of a blow.

_What's to say there's going to be a "next month?" A "next week?" Even a "tomorrow?"_

It had hit her, that she had always assumed that they would be victorious against Ozai. Just figured that everything would work out. But as the day of the Black Sun crept closer, the weight of the possibility suddenly crushed her.

They could lose.

Even worse, they would be victorious. At the expense of someone she loved.

That was the way that war worked, after all.

So now Katara had made a promise to make these days ones to remember, make them the best as possible. What was Zuko's favorite food? What was Toph's favorite thing to do? She would show Aang a waterbending trick she had thought up. And Sokka, was there anything he needed mended?

And now, as she poked at her food, she lost her appetite. The food felt as if it would become ash in her mouth, and she suddenly found herself combating tears. Surrounded by everybody else, no less.

She hurriedly excused herself to hurry back to the warmth of the kitchens, to refill the pot of stew and compose herself. _Oh, I'm such a coward_, she thought grudgingly. _How can I be so scared at a time like this? Come on, everybody needs you to be strong, Katara. Pull yourself together._

She sniffled, and then nearly shrieked as she heard someone mutter behind her.

"Oh…"

And there stood Zuko, holding his bowl and looking at her with an even, golden gaze, the spoon being twirled between his fingers. He stepped forward, brushing past her, and ladled another hefty serving for himself.

Katara allowed a smile to pull at the sides of her mouth, one that she was unable to suppress when the firebender turned back around.

"Now what's so funny, girl?"

She smiled wider, noting how calm he seemed to be.

"Oh, nothing. You've got some appetite, you know."

He kept the same cool lock on her eyes, but scooped up a sample of the soup and ate it in a refined way, considering the statement.

"I hope you don't think I'm at the same gluttonous level as your brother…."

Had he been anyone else, Katara would have punched him playfully in the arm. But seeing as how this was Zuko, she kept her hands folded as she sighed.

"First of all, he's not a glutton. He just gets hungry easily. Second of all, I see you practically licking your plate when no one is looking. Tell me that's not gluttony…."

"If my eating this bothers you, just say so," he grumbled, placing the soup down.

"Oh, now don't start this now. Go on, enjoy it. I was hoping that you liked it."

Zuko, at last, broke the gaze between them, thinking for a second about her words, and then folded his own hands to mirror Katara's. She was now leaning against the stove, he against the door, a good ten feet between them. Enough distance to avoid any awkwardness.

"Look, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. I just wanted to make these few days special for everybody," the girl shrugged, gathering up what she needed to return to the meal with the others.

No one had wanted to make a day "special" for him since Zuko was about six. It was strange to hear it from the water girl now, as Zuko neared his seventeenth birthday.

"And why do you want to do that?" he asked, surreptitiously picking the bowl back up and resuming his meal.

"Um, just in case."

And her voice cracked slightly, the voice that had shouted at him in the dark under Ba Sing Se, spoke warmly to him riding on that sky bison, hoarsely reassured him amidst the hateful remarks in the arena, freed him in that cell, from his own prison. He tried not to appear surprised.

And he wasn't sure what to say, he felt obligated to say something, at least, as the girl turned with her soup to go, hastily blinking moisture from her eyes. She had cried in front of him once before, and she wouldn't do it again.

Zuko grabbed her arm to pause her for a moment, and pulled something from his belt.

"If there is one thing I know about you, it's that you laugh like a madwoman when you look death in the eye. You see and fear it, but the fear doesn't rule you. You're driven by something else."

She felt something cold, sharp and metallic being pressed into her hand as the firebender who she had once hated continued to speak.

"I want you to have this. I just have a strange feeling you'll need it."

Katara looked at his eyes with utmost severity, hand curling tightly around the gift he had given to her. And she bowed her head in gratitude, trying to balance everything that she was carrying.

"Thank you, Zuko."

He refuted her gratitude, wonder of wonders.

"Thank you... Katara."

As Katara felt her eyes open wide with shock like lenses, there came a cry from above them, ringing through the metal skeleton of the ship.

"Land! Fire Nation shore ahead!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Wow, that was a long chapter. And yes, look back to chapter 32. I mentioned that Jin was an earthbender; I thought that would be fun. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Expect them all to be about this long from now until chapter 40….now, let the battle begin :)**


	35. Chapter 35

**Wow, over 400 reviews! That's nuts. Thanks again to everybody! And on with the story! Oh, and I've been forgetting the disclaimer lately: I don't own Avatar.**

Chapter 35

The sun was rising quickly, unusually bright and blazing red like a hemorrhage of color in the sky. It washed down over the Fire Nation capital and the lands surrounding it, eager with anticipation as the day was brought into the city.

The city was enormous, as all the nation's capitals where, really. Many claimed that the city had lost a lot of its splendor and dignity, in the rush to keep up with the growth. The towers of old had long been torn down, tenements to accommodate the poor, springing up without regard to their quality. It didn't matter: as long as the poor stayed on the North Side and away from the people who did matter, that was.

Two structures loomed above the rest over the vast capital and its rooftops, opposite each other and with about two miles of streets and homes in between them. The palace faced the rising sun each morning, with the light catching on the golden statues and the towering red eaves. And facing the palace was the great Fire Temple, a relic from some long dead architect. Beyond the palace and the walls of the city, one could see the ocean from the top of the temple steps.

And as the guards of the night shift swapped places, they squinted at the pinpoints that glittered off that ocean's surface. The morning was the worst part of the day, most definitely.

One of the men nudged his friend, as they observed the sluggish start in activity down by the docks. Ships moving about, trading items being unpacked: normal, dull stuff.

"Got a group coming our way."

The other solider batted an eye to keep it open, and looked down at the couple of soldiers that approached the city gates with something loaded into the back of a small wagon. To bring in and trade? Hard to see what it was. The nimbler guard hurried along the battlements to stand above the gate as one of the soldiers pounded the door.

"State your business," he demanded curtly. The Fire Nation solider looked up at him: although the wall guard couldn't see the man's eyes under the shadow of his helmet, he could feel the glare digging into him. The man finally spoke gruffly,

"We're here to collect a bounty, may as well let us in."

"Do you have your passports?"

The soldier nodded, cracking out stiffness in his neck before turning to his companion. "You have them?"

"Obviously," the shorter man said, pulling out the documents. On the wall, the guard's head vanished from view and they heard a pattering as he went down several ladders, a few steps as he walked up to the gate, and a 'slap' as a slat slide aside on the door, giving him the ability to look the two in the eye.

"What's with the added guard?" The taller of the two asked, scanning the wall top.

"Lord Ozai's orders. We're expecting an attack from the sea."

The man started visibly, and the other one shrugged at him. "Attack? By whom?"

"Oh, the Avatar. Between you and me," he laughed as they heard the sound of a winch being cranked, "I think it's just talk."

"Huh. Last I heard, he was in Katsu."

As the first gate opened with two more to go, the wall guard laughed. "Yeah, nothing to worry about. So, who do you have there?"

The shorter one cocked his head, and turned. "Oh, just a pair of thieves we ran into back over in the Earth Kingdom….I wouldn't touch the bodies if I where you." This was shouted at the guard as he reached out a hand to inspect it with a clattering of armor, and he instantly withdrew. He avoided dead bodies when he could, and the smell…it was terrible.

"Grabbing the money while the flesh is still on them, then?"

"Yes. Goodbye. I'm certain this Avatar gossip is just that: gossip."

"Yes, I'm sure. Although something does feel very odd today, I can't tell what. Supposedly we're going to get an eclipse. But that's something only the generals would know about."

"Not low ones like us, eh?" called down the man's friend.

The two soldiers with the dead thieves laughed heartily, and made to step out into the city past the third barrier as they handed off their passports.

But the younger wall guard stopped them with a quick tap of his spear, a curious tone in his voice as he addressed the shorter of the two men.

"Hey, take off your helmet for a second. I want to see something."

The smaller solider turned to the sound of the voice. His companion looked over at him, his back stiffening for some reason, and then at the wagon for a few moments. A second or two more of silence, and man pulled off his helmet. Pale skin and a defined nose, eyes… "What happened to you?" the guard asked, startled.

"Got a good slash across the eyes from some Earth Kingdom trash's blade. I'll be lucky if I emerge with my sight at all," the slight young man replied, fidgeting with the bandages that were wrapped across his vision.

The guard, imagining how painful that must have been, did not notice that the taller traveler was gaping, jaw hung wide. "Sorry. I thought you sounded familiar. Never mind."

And the injured man ran a quick hand through his cropped, short dark locks that seemed to have been recently cut, and replaced the helmet.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The pair was permitted passage, and as soon as the twin gates shut behind them and they emerged into the streets, the taller man spat into his companion's ear.

"WH-WHAT in spirit's name, Katara!…Your hair…what!?" He felt the urge to reach out and ruffle it; just to be sure that what he had seen hadn't been an illusion. When had she done that? Why had she done that? He actually had longer hair than his own sister now…this was depressing.

"I was expecting something like that," she mumbled back, pulling off the bindings and letting her blue eyes take in the sights. "Ack, my throat hurts from those herbs. Stupid man's voice."

"Hush your complaints," growled a voice from the wagon. "We're in here with decaying rhino meat."

"But _I'm_ wearing women's facial powder, Zuko," Sokka grumbled in reply.

"True," came a second voice from the wagon.

"Shhhhh!" Katara silenced the squabbles before they drew attention.

And they hurried forward to finish what they had started, eyes turned upwards towards the sky.

The barest sliver of a thin shadow scraped the sun's fiery edge.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ozai had woken in the night once again, dark eyes wide and burning from the images that had flashed through his head. This nightly madness had to end somehow, it was ridiculous. Nightmares where for little children.

But as he slept, he had seen a flash, a blinding flare of white, and then heard something. Someone's voice, drawing him back from the edge of a very dark and deep abyss.

A face looking down upon him like it was in a haze, not clearly defined.

He shrugged it off, as he had done with all the dreams before it. This one made even less sense than all the ones with the twisted shadows, but it was different in another way. It hadn't really been a nightmare, quite. More of a perplexity….but he silenced his thoughts and turned them to the task ahead as he strode along the corridors.

Ozai joined his daughter outside the banquet hall, noting that she seemed to have missed her rest as well as they both entered. Neither seemed interested in dining at that point, and instead they turned their course to the throne room.

Azula tried to keep her spine rigid and straight alongside him, to draw herself up in regal self-importance in the shadow of her father. Ozai also noted that: she had never had needed to put so much effort into it before.

As they moved through the hall, a door suddenly banged open in their wake, and a voice called out to them hoarsely.

"My Lord! My Lord!"

Azula's cold eyes where the first pair he met as she whipped around.

"Why do you disturb us?"

The man let out a panting sigh, legs seeming unsteady beneath him as he drew in a strong breath of air before telling them. "Lord Ozai, Princess Azula. We've spotted four of our ships on the far side of the bay; on the south side…they launched a few blows to the fortress there. We had received no signal from them, and they did not fly the Fire Nation colors……"

_Ships?_

Ozai recalled that the messenger had previously told him of the attacks made on their navy. The wolf in pig-sheep's clothing. Yes, that sort of blatant trickery was not beyond his brother. _Why, you sly old man….._

Azula looked over to her father, one eyebrow daring to raise in question. Ozai snorted in contempt as a response to the frazzled man.

"I can guarantee you that it's the Avatar. About how many men would you guess there are aboard?"

"Hard to say, we couldn't get close…"

"Fine. How long will it take to bring the battleships around to meet them?"

"I'll do it as quickly as I can, my Lord. Perhaps an hour to go around the bay…."

"Take the 23rd battalion with you. And General Inaza's troops, that will be enough to run your own ships."

"My Lord, you sent the 23rd to Geming."

"General Ezar?"

"He's in Ba Sing Se, my Lord father," Azula spoke up, keeping her head bowed as she did.

Ozai's shoulders stiffened a moment before he spoke. There was a dangerous glint in the black orbs that the man spotted a second too late, and Ozai lunged, snatching the man around the throat. For a few brief and deadly seconds, the solider was amazed at how coarse and powerful the hands of the Fire Lord where. The grip was crushing

"Well then," Ozai hissed through his teeth, sorely tempted to collapse the man's windpipe in a rage, "Find enough men to take care of the Avatar and his men. I don't care who."

The man turned and ran, realizing the urgency of the situation as he did so. He had never seen Lord Ozai's composure so brittle. The fleeting of the feet as he ran down the hall, crashing away to the soldier's quarters, and feeling strangely cold.

But he let the memory of Ozai's threats override the strange shivers that ran up his spine.

Outside, overhead as the battalions stormed down to the shore, the shadow crept slowly across the sun's face, drawing the attention of the more observant.

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

"What are you planning, brother?" Ozai growled to himself, leaving Azula to return to his quarters. He felt it, closing like a noose over his neck, heard it like a distant peal of thunder. A confrontation was nearing, and Ozai was a man who liked to be prepared.

And the Fire Lord shed the golden crown, the elaborate décor of nobility, instead donning the common armor worn by every Fire Nation man or woman under his command.

_Zuko's coming as well….._

_Ah, Ursa, our son and I are going to have a wonderful little reunion._

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

"There they go," Katara whispered as they ducked out of sight. Sure enough, just as Kuei had predicted, the swarms of soldiers stormed pastunmindful of any sort of dignified march as they hurried to the docks.

"I hope Dad will be okay," Sokka mumbled, thinking out loud.

"Don't worry; they're as tough as nails. We just need to do our job…" and the girl turned to look up at the sky once again.

The celestial phenomenon was drawing more than a few stares, now, as the sun was nearly half-masked in shadow. Just a little bit more, and they would have to go ahead with their plan. Sokka pulled something from his side weapon pouch, whispering back to Zuko to move his elbow.

Zuko only shivered. He was so _cold_, like all the warmth had been turned off within him. Uncle seemed to be faring much better, although his face was far paler than usual.

"Zuko, remember, you won't be able to bend soon."

He nodded, controlling his body from shaking. Like his blood was freezing, it felt like, as the sun was slowly overpowered by the moon.

"A total solar eclipse will only last for a few minutes: we will need to be quick about this," Iroh commented, as the last of the soldiers fell away, the gates of the city slamming shut. The four warriors stalked forward to the great square that Zuko and Iroh would guide them to.

Zuko turned an eye to the palace, lit by the slowly dimming light as it approached midday.

He gave a loud sigh, and continued.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Twinkletoes just keep going. I need us to work together on this."

"I know, I know. I have your back, don't worry."

"Sugarqueen must be rubbing off on me; I can't seem to _stop_ worrying, at this point."

Aang looked back over his shoulder, and multiple pairs of eyes met his own from out of the dark, reflecting the torch lights.

His turned his attention in front of him, and as one the two earthbenders gave a mighty push, driving the earth and rocks back once more, clearing their way as they moved.

"Boy, I hope this works," Toph grumbled, keeping her ears more alert than any time in her entire life. She needed to listen. Everybody was counting on her, to make this crazy plan come to term.

And Toph would have it no other way.

"Ready again?"

"Yup."

"Heave!"

Another solid, pounding noise reverberated away into the earth.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kuei stood on deck, looking about him at the men rushing to their various stations as they patiently awaited their opponents. Decoys, they where mere decoys. But at least they could do some damage while they where at it. The Earth King sighed, and turned to his firebender companion.

"When do you suppose that they will figure out that three of these ships are empty?"

"After they waste valuable ammunition destroying them, hopefully."

Kuei nodded nervously, and looked up into the sky for a moment. He was unable to hold his tongue anymore, especially in the face of death.

"If…if I die, I want for my city to be…."

"You need not fear death, Your Majesty…think of it as another mystery to be solved. And you seem like the type who enjoys that sort of thing." And that was all he said in the matter.

Hakoda approached the pair, head strangely clear despite the state of panic that the ship seemed to be in. But he had done all that he could, up to this point. He had held his children and let them go once more, silently asking the spirits that if his son or daughter was destined to die in this battle, please, please, take him instead. He would die in their place. And he had watched them depart, not knowing how this would conclude. Everything else was in the hands of his ship mates and fate.

"Anything yet?"

Jeong Jeong squinted, and his eyes lit up as they watched the bow of a black, smoke-belching warship appear around the bay like a metallic sea serpent.

"Ready the catapults," Hakoda spoke, and sighed.

If this was it, well, there are worse ways to die than among friends.

There was a distant crashing, a roaring of flame, as the first projectile was launched.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Katara had never seen anything so fascinating in her entire life. It really was a marvel, how odd the light became as the shadow crept across the sun, dimming it, but not quite blotting it. She rested a hand upon Sokka's arm as they crouched in the shadows, grateful that they had taken those Fire Nation soldiers prisoner instead of killing them, that day in Chameleon Bay. Where else would they have gotten the armor and passports?

Sokka's blue eyes followed the path of his sister's arm, up into her face as the sun vanished overhead. She looked so strange with that short hair….and both drew a shuddering breath. Just one thing left to say, now, before they brought this to an end.

"Sokka…."

"Yes, Katara?"

"Love you," his sister whispered, pulling him close as she had done when they where children, the cold armor between them now as the two embraced quickly.

"Love you too," he said throatily.

"I hope you told Suki that before you left," Katara laughed teasingly. Sokka nodded, and both pulled away.

Alright, then.

And Katara decided that they should use the total solar eclipse for Aang to face Ozai, not to stand around waiting. Enough of that, thank you very much.

Zuko, shuddering, tensed his body as he sensed the water girl's eyes shift from him to her brother.

They where ready now, in more ways than one. The shadow of the moon grew larger.

"Now," she whispered, prodding Sokka in the back.

"Now?" he replied, striking a spark rock and igniting the fuse he held in his hands.

**_"NOW!"_**

"Right!" he cried, and the boy raced forward, into the massive center of the square in front of the palace, and threw the flaming bomb he had been holding in his hands.

The fire flared in the strange light that was falling down all around the city, and a commotion arose from the soldiers at the palace gates as they spotted the boy far below.

Once, twice, the small package of blasting powder from the Katsu mines skipped over the stone, the flame eating up the fuse hungrily.

And it blew up with a roar, creating a great crater in the refined stone….

…………………………………………………………………………… ……………...

Toph's creamy jade green eyes widened in the darkness.

There it was.

And without a word to Twinkletoes, she knelt down, wrapping her entire mind and will around the earth surrounding her, feeling it's pulse and it's beat, riding it like a wave as it took her strength soaring.

With an inhuman roar of effort, she crashed both arms over her head, hands clenched into fists, as she had done that day under Ba Sing Se.

Only this was much, much grander in scale.

Much.

But she was the greatest earthbender in the world, and she was not afraid.

The pulse, the hammer of her own power, crashed upwards as the rock gave way before it, a speeding locomotive that rocketed through the ground and to the surface, and Toph then seized the earth that they where all standing on.

And with one final, almighty push, they where sent flying upwards, the banging and poundings overhead clearing the way.

**CRAASSHHHH!!!**

The earth split wide open, a chasm appearing before the Fire Nation palace with incredible aftershocks, rubble shot in every direction. And as the soldiers looked down upon it with jaws wide, a small figure leapt from it, dusty and dirty…….

And after her?

A horde of soldiers, the size of a small army at least, Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe, all turning on the palace and evading the arrows that where immediately rained down upon them.

_How had that happened? Where had they come from? _

But as the army spread out through the city, blades crashing, blows striking, with the soldiers and people fleeing, it did not matter.

All they could do now was fight.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"AANG!!"

He heard the bellow over the melee as every Fire Nation solider left in the city rushed into the wide, stone square that had become a battlefield, and he threw a sweep of air to clear the way, rushing and bounding towards Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Iroh.

And there was Toph and Suki, Toph hurling a chunk of rock out and into the men as they advanced on her.

"Come on!" the Avatar roared, now flying on his feet as he flew up the palace steps, his friends in hot pursuit. Just as they had barged in back in Ba Sing Se…but there was much more at stake here.

The sun could hardly be seen now, the sky taken on a strange, darkened coloring like a premature twilight, and he was able to look back briefly over the city. Over the ocean, over the path that had brought him here.

His friends behind him, until Zuko suddenly took a sharp left to run down another corridor.

"Zuko?!"

"_Go, Aang_!" he roared, and there was a scream of steel as he drew both broadswords. "I have to do something!"

Katara looked after him briefly, knowing exactly what he was after.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Azula was cold.

So, so cold.

So this was the Day of the Black Sun. How fitting that it should be the day of confrontation with their greatest opponent, those brash, foolish children, come to finish this little game.

Although tunneling under the city…she had not seen that one coming. Bringing a whole army in that way? Of course. He was an earthbender, after all, you foolish, foolish girl. And as for the boats out in the bay?

As much as Azula's own brain refuted the fact that she and her father had underestimated their foe (_and that was always the downfall of the greats_, she thought poisonously), the sinking pit in her stomach told her that that had been merely a distraction to draw troops away.

The rebellion at Geming….

The blockage of the navy at Katsu….

All of it was hastily pulling together in her mind in a neat, precise way that Azula strongly disliked as she sprinted along the halls, pushing against the flow of soldiers as they ran against her.

So cold, the tips of her fingers feeling frozen.

Why was it that lightning was called "the cold-blooded fire"? Lighting was nothing compared to this, the lightning that refused to obey her now. Only the faintest sparks floated from her fingers. A young child could bend more... but her inner sun was extinguished, and she was powerless….

_No, no, no, I'm in control, I am a force of nature, I fear nothing…._

But as she rounded a corner, she knew that she was wrong. And her gaze fell upon the person standing there, feet apart in fighting stance, with molten gold eyes piercing her.

Zuko.

A scar and a scar, two forces reunited. And neither could ever remember the other ever looking so fierce, as the glares locked.

One step, two step, they kept their distance as they circled each other in the palace halls where the siblings had once played.

And with a grunt, Zuko jutted his arm out. Azula flinched inwardly with the movement. One of his broadswords left his hand, the cold metal flashing as the blade flew to her….

And it clattered at her feet.

"Pick it up, Azula," the prince ordered. "You and I are going to finish this."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I don't know where we're going!" Aang called in a reminding fashion, pushing himself and Iroh along on long gusts of wind, sliding blocks of stone, whatever would work to get them through. Man, how big _was _this place?

"The throne room is at the center of the palace; my brother may be there…"

"Great….heads up!"

Toph leapt forward, foot sliding out. And two jabs of stone blew a huge set of double doors open.

She had only a few moments to turn an ear back over her shoulder, listening for her friends, but they had vanished behind a corner. To hold off whoever else planned on interfering, she figured. And Hothead had gone off to settle things with his psycho sister.

Okay then.

"Toph, grab my hand! We need to go faster!"

She obeyed, and the warmth coiled around her sweaty fist as he launched them forward again.

Toph Bei Fong was many things.

But strangely, amidst the battle, she wasn't afraid.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Katara swept the water around in a speeding arc, blowing the next cluster of soldiers backwards in the crowded hall. Just keep your focus, she repeated to herself…Suki's back pressed against her own, and the Kyoshi warrior slashed out with the pair of golden fans.

"Sokka!"

"Yeah!" he roared back, snatching the boomerang deftly from the air.

"We lost track of Aang!"

"Don't worry, we'll catch up to him," Suki gasped.

A sword nearly took off a good portion of her side, and she had to crash to the ground to dodge it.

Katara looked about, desperate as the trio turned to run with Sokka leading the way, flying away on swift feet. Aang, Aang, they needed to get to Aang…

_Thunk!_

Sokka halted, as a long, thin knife embedded itself in the wall a scant few inches from his face, mesmerized by the silver that flashed as it shook with the impact.

His blue eyes traveled up the needle, out into the large room they had stumbled into, the distant shouts of the soldiers echoing around the high ceiling.

Mai and Ty Lee stood there, an alarmingly grim expression upon even Ty Lee's face.

So it was an eclipse. Big deal.

"YOU!!" Suki's voice was strained and raw as her eyes lit upon the two Fire Nation women, the companions of the one who had killed her comrades and left her for dead.

"Katara, keep going!!" Sokka cried to his sister, as he pulled his machete from his belt. "Suki and I will take care of them."

Katara knew when to argue, when to protest and stand her ground. But now was not one of those times, and with a silent prayer to keep her brother safe, the waterbender hurried away to where she was needed.

"Anything else before we get going?" Sokka growled smugly, as a smirk unwillingly spread over his face.

"Nope!" Ty Lee responded, flipping her chestnut braid over one slim shoulder. "Nothing."

"Good," was Suki's response.

And it was.

Mai's arm shot out, another knife slicing the air as it flew towards the Kyoshi girl, advancing in on her. There was another muted sound as the golden fans struck it away, and Suki charged forwards as well.

_Thwip.. _

She winced, while a pair of delicate little knives cut clean through the flesh on her shoulder, hissing in pain as she raised her arm anyway and hurled the fan out at the woman, keeping steady in her path….and before Mai was able to move, the two collided, Suki plowing her weight into the Fire Nation warrior, both of them flying, crashing against the ground…

"Suki!"

"Ah ah ah, eyes on me!" Ty Lee reminded him. There was a smacking sound as she snapped a kick out that felt like it knocked his jaw out of place, sending Sokka down as well.

Two bounds, a flip in the air, and the acrobat had landed in front of him again, hunkered down and ready as Sokka sprang to his feet again, trying to keep whatever pressure points he remembered her using guarded. He remained still, tensed…

_Wait for her to come to you…._

And Ty Lee leapt forward with the agility of a feather on the wind, turning lightly to move around his left side, fingers out to jab into his shoulder, in that nice little spot where the nerves joined together that would crumple him like a wet paper lantern….

**Thud!**

And instead the boy ducked down, waiting until the last second before coming up and underneath her, seizing the girl in her path and following it through with a tight grip on her. With an angry, wordless roar, his eyes never leaving Suki as she combated the other Fire Nation girl, Ty Lee was hurled around to land with a 'crack' at his feet, given only enough time to roll out of the way as the blade rushed down upon her throat.

A _clang_ as it struck the bare floor where Ty Lee had been only a moment before. She considered the boy, now aware that she was afraid.

His eyes, they look so much different….no more games.

"Having fun?" she smiled, trying to ignore the pain in her spine.

"More than you can imagine," he panted. And the two rushed each other once again.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Ozai knew what he needed to do.

Exactly what he had been planning to, if by any chance Zuko did manage to capture that Avatar. His own father had instructed him explicitly as to what needed to be done.

The temple. He needed to draw him to the temple.

_But why, Father?_

_You will see, if that day ever comes._

And now it had, and as Ozai tightened the armor about his powerful frame, he heard exactly what he was listening for, and turned to greet the Avatar.

Aang stood in the doorway, staff out at the ready, lungs drawing greedy gasps of air. So there was Ozai.

He did look a lot like Zuko, Aang had to reflect. The jaw and facial structure, the same tilt to the head, the strong shoulders. But at the same time Ozai looked nothing like Zuko: because Zuko did not emit such a chilling aura about him, so cold and fierce, with no hint of mercy that he could sense. And Aang realized with a shudder that the Fire Lord's eyes where not gold, but a bottomless, deep black, framed clearly by the white of his eye that stared across the long hall at him.

The torches crackled softly, the wind swirling about the Avatar making the little flames waver.

_Such a small boy, such a young child_. He could recall Zuko being that age…..

The boy's eyes where wide with fear, but Ozai was not going to brand him a coward quite yet.

"Hello, Avatar."

"Hello, Ozai."

They could have wasted time on some sort of pre-apocalyptic speech, a few cryptic words to exchange, but both enjoyed getting directly to the point.

Framed in the firelight, the Avatar turned in a tight circle and sent a great rush of air out, pummeling into the Fire Lord and striking him down, throwing him backwards.

Ozai knew he could not firebend, as the boy moved forward, looking almost hesitant. Merciful little airbenders. They never learn.

And Ozai seized a knife from his side, swinging it out to fly at the boy. The Avatar was barely able to dodge it and it still grazed his back, now fully aware that the Fire Lord was armed with a sword as well.

And then….

Ozai turned and ran.

_What? _

It was all Aang could think, but he hurried forwards anyway.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

_Clang!_

_Crash!_

A snarl of pain, the sound of flesh and bone being struck, as the blades and warriors combated, both pairs of eyes as cold as they had ever been.

Azula swung the sword to bring it down upon Zuko's, parrying the blow he had intended for her heart, and then dodging a strike from him. She ducked.

_Thwack!_

Zuko's sword imbedded itself in a wooden pillar as his sister twirled around it, as quick on her feet as a shadow, and cut him deep in his side.

With another roar, he wrenched the sword free and came at her, searching out the fear in her eyes and ignoring the blood on his side. It would have to take care of itself.

The forces struck again, both firebender's hands shaking with cold and effort as the bladed became locked against each other.

Azula's shoulders screamed in pain, the slash Zuko had inflicted on her back throbbing and muting her senses. But it did not burn nearly as much as the memory of the scar he had put on her face.

"Hrrraah!" An undignified sound sprang out the princess's throat as she lunged forward again, the steel sliding up and outwards, and then it was back to the dance of the two swords, whacking against each other and refusing to yield a single step.

Much like the two warriors who wielded them.

And suddenly Azula felt a tremor of warmth that was not the flow of blood in her stomach, a small fire trying to start on a frigid morning.

Her amber eyes widened.

She was not sure if Zuko had felt it as well. But now she only needed to keep this up a bit longer…..

And outside, over the battle in the streets of the city, the white hot edge around the shadow began to show itself……

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Did you actually think I would let Aang fight a non-bending Ozai? Nah. And don't worry, Katara will get her turn. That's all, folks. I'll be working in Chapter 36 soon. See you later, and leave a review, please!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Okay, I won't say much here. Thank you for all of the reviews on the last one, and I do not own Avatar. I don't own any of the shows I like, sadly, but I'll learn to deal with it.**

Chapter 36

The fire was raining down now, one of the decoy ships already gone up in a towering blast of inferno. Kuei hit the deck hard as he avoided a projectile and debris, half crawling over to where Jeong Jeong and Hakoda were at the catapults, hastily loading another missile into the throwing arm.

"Adjust the settings, Kuei!" the firebender general cried out. His breath, strangely, crystallized like the air around him was very cold, despite the heat from the blazes as another explosion rocked the water.

No matter how they battered the enemy, it seemed to be refusing to yield and sink. It was a massive warship, much larger than theirs, not intended for long missions or speed. Just a weapon of destruction.

The Earth King realized that the Fire Nation soldiers would be able to board Hakoda's ship soon, if they were to get any closer. And then the battle would have a whole new playing field.

Kuei gripped the side of the dials, turning them to the new coordinates, lining up the siege weapon with the target, and Hakoda laid a torch to it.

"_Fire!"_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Suki knew she was in trouble. Deep trouble, but she didn't let it frighten her. A knife buzzed over head, deflected and sent spinning away by the fan clutched in her left fist.

"You…you can't….dodge me forever..." the Fire Nation woman in blood red robes gasped.

_Good, at least she's as tired as I am. More even odds, at least_.

Suki struck another fighting stance, pointedly snapping the fans wider as if to welcome any attacks that the knife girl would make. She may not have been very good at hand to hand, knife fighting, swordplay, the works.

But as for tessenjustsu? She was a fair hand at that.

A moment of consideration, and Mai snatched a blade from her belt, one that suddenly opened like a maw of sharp teeth to reveal two hidden blades in the handle. She narrowed her pale eyes, awaiting the Kyoshi warrior to make the next move. Enough of this "tossing things around" business….

Suki came forward, the tessen fans an extension of her arm and her determination, and the outer metal spokes of the right one sliced into the other girl's arm. _Swoosh_! The bladed fans made a clean gold arc, another slash as the knife warded them off.

The Kyoshi girl made an elaborate twist, turning her wrists outwards and blocking the knives that came swinging at her, judging their comparative power as the two young women pushed against each other. _Hmm, the thin red-robed girl is a lot stronger than she looks…._

The tessen diverted and came out again, shredding the cloth of Mai's front as she dodged out of the way, and both warriors stooped down from fatigue and a want to keep the vitals guarded. Ah, practicality.

Then the fan and the knife met again.

Suki turned an eye over to Sokka as the metal struck and sparked.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Sokka couldn't get a hold on her, as he watched the girl fly about, twist under his boomerang, and move with the agility of a snake. Curses! He just needed one good blow: she was accurate, fast, and well-timed, but she was not strongly built and hardened. Not built to withstand a slash, a deep cut, he figured.

But right now he needed to wonder if he would even be able to touch her. He hurled the boomerang out yet again, and the girl snapped down at the waist, letting the wind it brought in its wake ruffle her hair.

And she, similarly, could not get a hold on him. Thus far he had parried every blow perfectly, and Ty Lee knew that she had gone against the first lesson she had been taught, when learning this bloodless technique.

_Never let your enemy see your fighting style more than a few times…the smart ones will catch on to it._

So clearly, the Water Tribe boy was one of the smart ones, as he made sure to protect his spinal cord, the joints, the neck, the heart, all those knots of muscle and nerves.

_Well, time to try again_, both thought. _And this time, mean it_.

Sokka hefted the machete up once more, charging in and not quite sure what force was propelling him forward. He just moved: he didn't feel like wasting time thinking about it.

Ty Lee did the same, staring into his eyes and wondering where the playful light in the blue had gone….

The two warriors met with a mixture of sounds, clashing, slicing, pounding, which Suki and Mai both turned to see. The most prevalent one was that of smug triumph as the pair collided, bodies still for a second.

"Hah!"

"Heh!"

And both stumbled backwards, a long gash now across Ty Lee's bare stomach, Sokka's right arm hanging useless at his side, both drawing air into their exhausted lungs, and both pushing back up to full height.

Mai turned from Suki to join Ty Lee, pressing shoulder to shoulder as the distant shouting of soldiers and the rage of a larger battle drew near. Both Fire Nation friends noticed that the other was shaking.

Ty Lee contemplated the grease of blood now on her hand, swallowing to wet her dry throat. The boy had not cut her deep, but she knew he could have. Had he held back….?

"Mai…" Ty Lee whispered hoarsely, "I dunno if we can beat them."

Mai only shrugged, and then spoke back quietly, "If they don't kill us, Azula will."

Azula. They where only as good as the fighting they could do, to that girl. And the image of the two birds, beating their futile wings in Azula's strong, cruel grasp, flashed through both of their minds unbidden.

Suki ran to Sokka, grabbing at him.

"Sokka! Sokka! Are you alright?"

"Uh…well, if you don't count the arm," and he shook it. It only swung limply, as though every bone in it had been shattered, "I'm fine."

And he was. He was Sokka of the Water Tribe. What was the use of one arm? He would fight with a knife between his teeth if he had to, at this point. Suki frowned.

And the warrior girl moved, slowly but surely as the enemies faced each other, to stand in front of Sokka, the fans he had given her spread out deadly blooms.

"If you want him, you'll have to kill me first."

Sokka's eyes widened, and his one good arm forcibly pushed the girl out of the way, shouting to them, "As if! If you want _her_, _I'm_ the one you're going to have to slice up into little bitty pieces. Not the other way around."

"Sokka! Give me a break! You only have one good arm!"

"So **what**?! I'm not letting anything happen to you ever again!"

She snorted.

Ty Lee and Mai were very, very still, witnesses to the fierce love the two warriors had just inadvertently expressed. The girls exchanged a single glance between themselves. What were they here to do?

To kill one of them. Or both: they were sure Azula would prefer that they killed both of them.

War.

Death.

Cold-hearted killing.

Tearing love to shreds.

The Kyoshi warriors, the man in Ba Sing Se, the faces all swirling together.

How much more could their two spirits bear? That was the decision to be made.

_We're not murderers,_ Ty Lee thought briefly. _I don't want to be remembered that way._

"No more," Ty Lee whispered shakily.

Mai nodded.

And the bird's wings suddenly broke free, away from the vice-like grip, as all four warriors looked to the door which was being pounded upon by a score of Fire Nation soldiers and a light went on behind both of the Fire Nation girls' eyes.

"Go. Go now," Mai ordered huskily.

"**_What?"_** Sokka glared, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"I said go! Go help your friends…"

"…Mai and I can take them," Ty Lee finished with a smile, jerking an elbow towards the pulsing door. "Hurry up."

Sokka was speechless, gaping at Azula's cronies as they readied themselves for whatever was behind those doors, grasping at Suki's hand as he backed up.

"**GO!!"** Both cried in unison.

"Thank you," he nodded, and turned to run. The word warmed Ty Lee's heart a surprising amount: no one had ever thanked her for something like that before, and her decision affirmed itself even more.

The doors gave way with perfect timing, the pack of soldiers hurtling in with weapons raised.

"Ready?" Ty Lee shouted to her friend. Was this what Zuko had felt, when he fled Ba Sing Se? This redemption, this liberty? It was like being back on the high wire, above the world.

"Yes." It was Mai's sole response, as a genuine smile graced her features.

And with a hurtling of fists and a storm of knives, the freed women got to work.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aang flew along, in leaps and bounds after the Fire Lord who had sprinted down the great steps of the palace, through the battle still raging outside, running over the streets. Where was he going?

Aang's eyes darted to the side for a moment, and he took to the roof tops in another flying leap, getting ahead of the man and dropping down before him, with the staff pointed at his opponent.

"Come on, stand and fight me!" he cried out, trying to sound as fierce as he possibly could. Not working, obviously.

_Well then, make him listen to you, Aang_!

And with a huff of strain and effort, the Avatar sought out and summoned the water from the nearby well, spinning it overhead with the staff, turning it loose in a rage of white foam upon the man.

There was a flash of steel as the wave rolled towards him, the tip of his blade plunging into the earth. Ozai clung to the grounded sword when the mighty rush of water blasted into and over him, a great pummeling blow that knocked the wind out of the firebender.

The last of the water receded, Ozai still firmly on his feet until he was suddenly shocked off of them by a jutting jab of earth, a plate of it racing across the ground and flipping him onto his back…

Which gave him a clear view of the sun, as it began to re-appear…

The dark eyes widened with a malignant elation.

It was like a bonfire being ignited, revived, and Ozai hurtled to his feet, turning loose a river of fire equal to the water one that the Avatar had just hit him with.

"Whoa!" Aang cried, rapidly pushing aside the flames as they rushed him. No! He had lost his chance! And as the sun began to reappear, slowly but surely, he was hit by another stream of blaze, jumping over this one.

Ozai smirked coldly, but then leapt from the earth.

A tide of flame carried him, up, up over the Avatar, back down surely onto his feet, and he kept running, with the Avatar in pursuit, destruction in their wake as both barreled through the city.

They where approaching the temple.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Katara realized it too, as a firebender nearly roasted her when she met him in the hall. Her mind flew into a panic as she pushed a dagger of ice out into the man's leg, bringing him down and darting around him. Now the advantage was gone!

_Aang!_

_Zuko!_

Aang, where had he gone? She stopped to draw in air as she considered that. He must have found Ozai by now, he must have. So where would the two be? She heard the clashing of swords, the roaring of flame, somewhere through the walls. Aang had Toph and Iroh with him, Aang was ready, and Aang was strong. He still needed her, though, and Katara began to hurry forward.

_But what about Zuko_? Her heart plunged as uncertainty crept into her, as a horrific realization dawned on her, and she halted in her tracks. Zuko and Azula. Between the two, Katara was not sure of who was the better bender.

But from what she had seen, from the hateful way that Zuko referred to the princess, the master was probably Azula. Azula and her lightning, the lightning that had nearly killed Aang….

But she was Zuko's sister.

His _sister._

And Zuko's heart, while covered in a hard iron exterior, while guarded against the world….what if…?

Zuko….Aang….

And Katara turned, decision made, and she ran as though whips where at her heels.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Azula could feel it now, humming in her system, and she had to stop and savor the return of the power as her frozen blood thawed.

She tossed the pathetic blade aside and it landed with a thin crash as she turned her face upwards, titled it towards the sun that hung beyond the roof overhead.

"Your luck just ran out, Zuzu. Father always said that I was the one who was born lucky."

He looked at her, those golden eyes now so unreadable, and he too cast aside his sword.

Azula smirked, and without further hesitation plunged her hands greedily into her center of power, seizing it and unchaining it. Wild, untamed, vicious, and with no emotion whatsoever. An instinct to kill, nothing more. Azula was but a vessel for it. Just precision and death, although the rush in her veins was wonderful.

And the lighting rocketed up and out her arm, a straight path given it as it incinerated a trail through the air towards Zuko.

He dropped down, feeling the incredible heat that stroked his back, and threw a windmill of blaze up at her.

Azula smacked it out of the way, springing aside and sending another stream at him, this one of smooth, blue fire.

And Zuko stood his ground, feet rooted in an odd position that Azula had never seen in firebending before…the feet were too wide, the knees too bent.

He reached out both arms, twisting them around the tunnel of sapphire flame, and in one fluid motion like the flow of water, Azula found her own blaze rushing back, ready to devour her.

"Ah!"

She smashed her arms into it and dissipated it, drawing up another crackle of lightning that accumulated in her hand, and she hurled it at her brother.

Zuko stepped _into_ it.

He received the lightning through one hand, a tremor running through his body as the power traveled, and the lightning came out his other, that little trick he had oh-so-conveniently gotten hold of back in Ba Sing Se.

A blinding flare of white light, a clap of thunder.

Azula acted.

The lightning, the raw fire energy, blasted a crater in the floor where Azula had been standing, and she was now over on the left, crouched. She trembled as the adrenalin flooded her veins, forcing down the anger that was welling up in her chest.

Let nothing show. No emotion.

"What, so you're just going to turn all of my attacks against me? How unoriginal," Azula grinned slyly, although her eyes showed no amusement. "You were always so dull, Zuzu."

She expected him to become riled, to become angry, and to possibly let slip the power she felt radiating from him. But he didn't.

Zuko instead launched himself, hands swirling with fire, and he crashed it into her, blow met by a fist covered in blue flame. The Fire Nation heirs hit the ground with a thud, their element coiling around the other's throat, brushing by the ear, as they threw each other off.

"Scared, Azula?" he dared to ask.

"No," she lied.

That said, Azula suddenly pivoted and ran, out the doors, down the hall, Zuko's fires chasing her all the while. Down this way, up that way, a chase that was broken up by periodic, loud blasts of fire.

Ah, there it was, Azula saw it now through the open doors. The perfect place to settle their little duel.

But as her hand extended to pull the door open wider, a hammer of flame ploughed into her back, sending her flying forwards and onto her stomach as she tried to repel it. She hissed, and turned herself over painfully.

Zuko stood there over the gasping firebender, a fistful of blaze in one hand as he looked down at her.

Looked down at Azula.

Azula, his sister.

His sister.

And for that one deadly moment of hesitation, Zuko paid dearly.

"Father always said you were spineless, too" the princess spoke coldly, and then let a huge blow of fire leave her, striking her brother head on. It made him roar with such a wonderful pain, Azula thought. Almost as good as when her Lord father had burned him in the Agni Kai.

Zuko fell backwards, and Azula laughed, struggling some to pull to her feet, but then throwing the doors wide and dancing in.

"Look, Zuko!" she cawed triumphantly, spreading her arms about her as she stood in the room she had led them to.

Eyes watering with pain as he got to his knees, clutching his torso where she had struck him, Zuko saw it.

The Agni Kai arena.

It still echoed bad memories, but this time around he knew who his opponent was, and would not turn the other cheek from this match.

"Now, let's be formal about this," Azula said, hands now before her and twirling a blue flame in her fingers. She was in pain, he could tell by the way she clenched her jaw, but her voice did not betray it.

"Now, Zuzu, back in Ba Sing Se, I believe you challenged me to an Agni Kai, yes?"

"You heard me correctly."

"Wonderful," she spat acidly. "I hope the offer is still there."

"Oh, most definitely."

And he took a few steps to move forward, now fearful and angry as he considered that Azula was probably still his superior in firebending, even after the training, the battles. All for nothing. What had made him so strong that day in the throne room? He could not tell. But he took another step forwards anyway…

And something shot past him, an arm brushed against his, and he saw the person dodge quickly around him.

Through the doors, into the room with Azula, slamming the doors behind them, and Zuko lunged forward to grasp the closing barrier, as a voice shouted in his face,

"**ZUKO**! **_Go help Aang! He needs you! You have to do this together, it's the only way!!!"_**

The doors closed, he heard a bolt being slid into place, and he started beating against the unyielding surface, crying out a name over and over….

………………………………………………………………………………………………

So there they were, finally, as Ozai barreled up the worn stone steps where his ancestor had stood that cold night 100 years ago. And the Fire Lord reflected upon the irony of the situation, as he remembered the story that his son had so loved as a child.

This war had begun with a great duel between an airbender and a firebender.

Between the last airbender left in his temple, all those around him fallen, and the most powerful firebender in the world.

_And so it shall end_, Ozai thought. _And with any luck, fate will be as accurate in determining the outcome as it has been in arranging the opponents._

Aang and Ozai.

Gyatso and Sozin.

The Fire Lord raced into the temple, into the massive open stone hall, where he was going to conclude this battle once and for all. There: he had done what was asked of him.

And there was a rush of air, as the boy's small foot alighted upon the first temple step.

In the Spirit World, a pair of blazing golden eyes snapped wide open, an involuntary shudder of excitement indicating something unmistakable as it raced forwards.

_"**Finally!"**_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Azula's eyes widened marginally as she looked upon the warrior's battered frame across the stone dueling ground. Both had already been through quite a fight, both were injured as it was. And yet they were still standing, the other warrior near the door leaning on it and listening to Zuko strike it from the other side, thinking.

As tough as Zuko was, she knew, she _knew,_ that he would not be as cold as to kill his own sister. But Azula shared no such compassion.

She would rather suffer herself than let anyone she cared about suffer.

And the Fire Nation princess, rooted in her spot, watched as the newcomer slammed the bolt on the door home, sealing Zuko out.

And them in.

A pair of very wide, very cold blue eyes, like the ice fields up north, turned on her.

"Hi, Azula. Looks like it's just you and me now," Katara smiled grimly.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Okay, how many of you saw that one coming? Yes, I want to have Aang and Zuko face Ozai together: that's where the real struggle will lie for Zuko, I think. And Azula and Katara in the Season 2 finale? Waaay to short a battle, if you ask me. **

**Oh, and don't forget the spirit that started this whole thing. Well, see you all in the next chapter. This one got up really fast: I'm using up my weekend , I'm just so eager to get this finished. Review, tell me what you think!**


	37. Chapter 37

**You know, for some reason I just couldn't imagine myself finishing this fan fiction. It was just weird to think that I would write forty chapters this quickly, but there you have it! Huh…here we go. Boy, I am so excited for the third season.**

Chapter 37

Zuko's voice was half-gone by now, as he viciously pounded and blasted the heavy doors that stubbornly refused to budge. _Katara! You foolish girl, what are you doing_?!

He had never been so desperate in his entire life, the strangest, plunging fear firmly settled within him. What had she told him?

_Go to Aang….._

No! He was going to stay right here and open these doors, snatch her out of Azula's path of destruction, and then he was going to finally do what he knew must be done…

_But is your fight really with Azula, Zuko? Or is it with your father?_

His fist was bleeding, and as he stopped to wipe it on his shirt front there came a voice behind him, casual and demanding as she called.

"Hothead! There you are! Come on, we need to go after Aang!"

The little blind earthbender ran up to him, his uncle close behind. Toph was frowning at the set of vibrations coming from behind the door, not to mention the rage that Zuko was shaking with.

"Is Sugarqueen in there?" she asked softly.

"Yes…."

Toph considered, torn in two between the dangers hanging over her friends. _Hurry up and choose, Toph_. She considered, their voices flashing through her head. Aang, he would be scared, wouldn't he? This was his final battle; this was what the fate of whole world would be determined by…..she couldn't let him face that alone. She needed to get to Aang. Sugarqueen could kick that psycho's butt any day of the week, that was that.

Twinkletoes….. Twinkletoes needed her. Toph felt that in her bones, like a blow to the gut, and she seized Zuko's hand in her own. He dug his heels in, but the earthbender smacked the floor tile up and pulled the whole thing along.

"Come on! Move it!"

"I can't…"

"From what Aang told me about their fight in Ba Sing Se, those two are an even match. Now hurry up, we don't have any time to waste!"

"Where have the Avatar and my father gone?"

"The temple," Iroh answered as all three pulled away from the door, back down the hall again as Zuko cast another look at it. _Katara! _

_If she dies, I'll never forgive her….._

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

_Ohhh boy, Katara. What have you gotten yourself into?_

She didn't know. Her hands were trembling as she lifted them up in front of her, feet automatically sliding into a fighting stance and tensing herself for the firestorm she was about to get smacked with. And her pouch, pressed against her sweat- soaked back, felt pitifully small. So very, very small….was this really all she had brought with her? _Stupid._

Azula, across the room, turned her head to the side in curiosity. Hard to recognize the girl, since she was no longer clothed in blue: now she wore Fire Nation armor, much like Azula's, really. And what had happened to her hair? It looked like it had been shorn off...but the pair of wide blue eyes gave her nationality away. If that was as fierce as the water girl could look, Azula was in for an easy battle.

"Hmm, standing in for Zuko, I see. You're that little waterbender, right? How sweet of you to look after him like that."

Katara tried to draw a calming breath, but it hitched on her fear and came out like a strangled choke. She wasn't ready for this; she wasn't good enough to do this. _Oh, spirits help me…_

_Remember fighting Zuko at the North Pole? He beat you in the end. Well, prepare for_ _something ten times worse_, her mind berated.

"Understand," Azula called out, as she slowly moved to the left and judged her prey, "that I intend to kill my brother as soon as I'm done with you. That boy doesn't stand much of a chance: no wonder Father hates him."

Katara glared at that. This was just as bad as Zian yammering on and on before their fight with the dragon, spearing Zuko upon his own self-doubt. At least the prince wasn't here to listen to it this time…. But for some reason, Katara took it all as a personal insult, like it was _her_ the words cut into. She reached up to her shoulders, and with a few clatters she let the outer layer of armor fall to the ground. She would need to be fast: the extra weight would only impede her.

And Azula kept talking, as per usual.

Katara grew angrier still, the fear quickly drying up.

"I can finally be rid of that spineless, worthless, emotional coward, and I can assure you that it's something I look forward to doing. So you may as well make my task easier and get out of my way, because sacrificing yourself is not going to do…."

_SMACK!_

A clear, exact whip of silver water streamed forward and stung Azula hard across the face with the force of a punch, closing the girl's mouth and widening her eyes as they watched the waterbender pull the whip back in.

"Shut up, Azula," Katara huffed, circling the water in a lazy loop at her side.

Azula's eyes turned to slits. _Insolent little peasant._

Azula struck her stance and pushed a blade of lighting out that ripped through the stone floor with the girl in its path, who had barely enough time to throw herself clear. The throw turned into a tumble, and she went head over heels back onto her feet. The water whip sang out again, this time wrapping around Azula's pale throat and hurling her overhead.

The princess landed with an undignified 'thud' on the stone, springing to her feet and punching two quick shots of temperamental blaze out as she rushed in.

Katara saw them headed towards her, digging both fingers into the water that was attached to her heart, the element she was one with. Like spreading a curtain, she stretched the water into a thin, wavering shield and it consumed the blazes within inches of her face.

Gathering the element up yet again, Katara leapt aside as Azula swung out, leaving a trail of fire behind her arm. Katara wasn't fast enough, and caught a direct blow that sent her into the ground, where her body seemed content to remain. But she knew it couldn't. Katara rolled over, back up to her feet, shaking off the hit.

"Ugh…" she coughed.

Azula called another pulse of lightning into her hands, approaching the water girl…

"Huh!"

Katara forced her heavy arms out, and from her hands shot a pair of thin ice daggers, which flew forward wildly to be struck aside by the lighting Azula wielded. Another one with a rushing sound, and it bought Katara enough time to get back up to swing the whip overhead, back behind her, spinning about her body twice, before jutting out again.

It darted through Azula's defenses, and then….

There was a long, thin, clear sound, as the water whip slashed Azula across the torso, left shoulder to right hip.

Azula felt no pain, only a growing, clouding fury, and her very center shook, the golden pool of power now overflowing like a lava pit. How dare that girl? Who did she think she was dealing with? With a roar and a ruthless look in her eyes, Azula threw another river of flame outwards, waiting for her moment.

There! The waterbender was moving to dodge it yet again, and the princess had to admit that she was quick. Quick and flowing. _But water runs in a set course, and can be predicted if you know the path of the river…._

Azula swung her whole body sideways, the fire following suit. Katara was barely able to push the water between her and the wall of flame as the two collided, and she stumbled backwards. The cloth of her armor caught, and she quickly extinguished the blaze. The backwash of the smoldering heat felt like it was smothering her skin. Ugh, it was so hard to breath in that hot, dry air…..

Azula did not wait for the water girl to gather herself again, but took three long strides forward, wanting to end this quickly. And for a few moments, Katara studied Azula as she approached.

From the little that Zuko had told her of his father and the lot that she had seen of the siblings, their father had not been a very kind and nurturing person. Zuko had had his mother to stand by, his uncle to cultivate what good there was in him. _Were people born evil?_ _No_, Katara thought. _Hatred is something that needs to be taught._

And so she now faced this tragedy, of a girl who had paid far too much attention to those lessons of hatred. She was very certain that no one had ever told Azula "Love you!" or made an impression on the girl. She had just been taught anger, which now sat behind those amber eyes. A puppet of perfect hatred, because she knew nothing else. _How sad._

An unexpected stab of pity dug into Katara's heart.

Azula saw the strange emotion inexplicably but unmistakably flash across the water girl's eyes, and she felt her blood surge with rage. Pity? It disgusted her deeply, in any shape or form, and she pulled the fistful of lightning back to smash it into the waterbender's heart. A drop of blood from Azula's wound splashed onto Katara's face.

_Okay Katara, time to move. _

Katara watched the crackling white light rush out at her, and she swept ahead with the water whip, undercutting Azula's feet as they leaned forward, and the fire princess was brought to the ground once again, cracking her jaw hard and painfully.

"You can give up anytime you want, Azula," Katara almost pleaded.

Azula only snorted at that, and fired off another streamer of flame at the waterbender. Katara pulled the water into its path, arm howling in protest from where a solider had smashed her up against a wall earlier.

Azula smirked.

She made a strange, flourishing motion with her wrists, and the flame suddenly coiled like a snake around the thin weapon of water, crushing in on it as it was seized from Katara's grasp.

_No!!!!_

With a hissing sound that was her death sentence, all the water vanished into steam, pushed away overhead, and before Katara could try and pull it all back in, she was hit by another pummel of fire that she was glanced by, a faint burn now on one shoulder.

And now she was at Azula's complete mercy…but she could tell Azula was as exhausted as she was: how long could they keep bending with the injuries they had sustained?

_Her reaction time must be slowing down. Her accuracy, her strength, everything….._

Katara watched as Azula stood for a few seconds, catching her breath in front of her. Just for a few seconds, but Katara would take it.

Sprinting forward, she reeled back and hit Azula with a plain, boring, old- fashioned right hook that the tired amber eyes did not see coming until it was too late as it struck her face and she stumbled aside. Fair enough, Katara found a fist in her face a second later, and boy, was it going to be hard to fight with a swollen eye.

She kicked almost blindly outwards, hitting Azula in the side of the leg, and then Azula smashed a foot into her, a high and well-trained roundhouse that struck her in the side. _Well, that hurt._

Angrier than she had ever been in her entire life at this little peasant that refused to roll over and play dead, Azula kicked a flare of flame upwards, sweeping it into Katara's face, and the waterbender was forced backwards again, searching.

Water, she needed some kind of water, and she had no idea where to get it. The dueling arena had not exactly been designed to accommodate the needs of waterbender, there where no big basins of water here. Why hadn't she listened to her own advice to Aang? _"When you fight the Fire Lord, it's not as thought you're going to have a river nearby…."_

_Hurry up and think of something,_ her brain ordered.

Think of what?

Another inferno flew out at her, and Katara dropped down again to duck under it, feet sliding apart and eyes never leaving Azula as she did so, with one hand supporting her against the floor. But her hands were slippery with blood and she lost her balance, slid forward, pushed her arms out at Azula as if to stop her, stop that rush of pain and death, hold back the scream she knew was about to explode from her throat….

Her blue eyes snapped wider.

And she found something.

Yes, definitely, there it was, calling and cycling, the smooth balance that she found so much comfort in…

What was this?

Why did she…..huh?

And with a spark in her eyes, Katara pulled as hard as she could.

As she had stepped forward to emphasize the motion of her attack, Azula had found herself brought to a halt as though she had hit a wall. Why could she not move? For some reason, her whole body had been seized and grounded in place as the waterbender had flung her arms in front of her. And now…

But Azula's train of thought was brought to a grinding, sliding wreck as she gasped, as she felt like something was being plunged into her chest, and she hissed in pain as it probed, coiling around her lungs, setting itself up and wrapping around her veins…

**_Get out_**! She ordered.

Katara winced.

Unfortunately, the force obeyed at the same moment that Katara yanked her arms back again.

And Azula watched in a stupor as a thin, long ribbon of water suddenly shot out of _her_ _own_ hand, flowing off her fingers, beading and gathering on her ghostly skin, and slipping away into the water girl's grasp as she seized it. Azula bit her lips that were suddenly very dry, her breath shallow and parched.

"Wh…what…. did you just…?"

Katara looked at the water now dancing between her hands, eyes wide with awe, and she shook her head in confusion. Water within the body itself? _After all, we are composed of all the elements, balanced_….but she had only taken what she needed. No more, because Azula's inner fire had cast her out with a bang, and forced her backwards.

But now she at least had her water again…..and she turned her eyes upwards too late to see the flame rushing her. _Oh great…_

Although her head was spinning and light, Azula was able to savor the wail of pain as the waterbender's leg was scraped by the blaze, the unpleasant and yet welcoming smell filling the Fire Nation woman's senses.

Katara pulled out of the way, but the blaze brushed her anyway. She had never gotten hurt so often in previous s battles, but as the stakes rose, so did the scale of the fight, she supposed. And now her nerves were screaming and smoldering.

"Ahhh!" Katara sobbed in pain, tears spilling down her face and accumulating into the water she already clutched. Wow, now that was painful. _Imagine it all over your face_…She needed to heal it….but Azula was standing there….so little water to work with as it was…..

And she made her choice.

The water whip struck out again, taking a wide, arching path as it whistled down onto Azula, and the fire girl raised her arms, fighting to stay on her feet as the world spun beneath her. The blue flame in her hands lengthened itself out, growing and becoming more agile, until a water whip and a fire whip faced each other, reared up like snakes and swaying before striking.

_Swish! Thwack_! The two whips dodged and darted, both trying to pass through the other's barrier and land a final blow. Caught in a sort of dance, really. Azula's movement's mirrored Katara's as both turned and twisted, a step forwards, and step back. A glance here, a near miss there, a sword duel between elements.

The water whip lashed down at Azula's feet.

The blaze roasted the air a hair's breath away from Katara's left ear. Her eyes narrowed with concentration, and she swung her arm upwards. The water mimicked her.

_Wham_!

The cool silver water turned in on itself and hit Azula from behind, snapping her neck downwards, and her hair fell from its crown. The bronze in the shape of a flame clanged on the floor, and neither took any note of it.

Another strike, worsening the cut Zuko had made with his sword on Azula's back and yet another lash that brought the firebender down on her knees, clutching at the wound on her front. The blood just didn't seem to want to stop flowing…and then a hook of water caught her there, too, and Azula was tossed backwards.

_Flick!_ The water wrapped around Azula, freezing her hands in place.

Katara's insides twisted in pain as she landed hard on the burnt leg, cursing her bad luck and cursing her own weakness, noting that she was shaking even harder now, commanding that she pull herself together. The rest of the water whip coiled back, the end of it crackled as it crystallized, frozen into a precise point, and Katara hurled it forward like a spear, letting the water stretch thin, with the ice glinting in the firelight…..

Azula saw it coming, and she took a long, careful breath, in and out, anger overriding her exhaustion as she realized that she too was shaking. But the cold fire roared to life within her once again, her hands exploded from their icy handcuffs, and the lightning pulsed up and out of her like a heartbeat, splitting the atmosphere of tension around the combatants.

And the lightning struck the lance of water.

_Perfect_.

Given a clear and easy path to follow, the lighting continued on its course, incinerating the trail of water, driving forwards, and its target realized what had just happened as the blow struck her.

There was a spark, a burst of white light, as the lightning crashed against the waterbender, sending her flying backwards with a gasp, tossing her onto her back and making her land with a snap that Katara was pretty sure was her arm.

She groaned, head against the cold and uncaring stone floor as the water lay useless around her, and she heard Azula practically shriek with frustration.

"Why are you still alive?! Die already, you miserable little peasant!"

Why _was _she still alive? Katara had no idea, and she wouldn't be alive for much longer if this kept up.

There was nothing left. Nothing left in her. No more water, no more strength, no more blood to lose, no more stops to pull out. She was spent.

There was a snapping, a fizzing, and Katara was able to lift her head just enough to see the white fire building around itself and Azula, dancing and circling as the girl traced a path with it. The final blow.

Katara closed her eyes.

And instead of blackness, she saw Aang there. Aang, Toph, Sokka. Zuko. Dad. Who was going to look after them? The thought came to her, as it had on the bridge in Geming. They needed her. She needed them. What would dying to for them do?….And she saw her mother lying in the snow, drawing her last breaths and spending them on words of encouragement.

"_Never give up…."_

_Yes,_ Katara thought_, I just may have enough left. You never know if you don't try_.

Azula took a few shaking steps that built up into a charge, the lighting singing and roaring like an animal within and about her, her heart leaping as she moved to land this blow, to win, to win and then cast this worthless peasant out of her way.

Katara sat herself up, coughing as she got to one knee, the other throbbing, her one good arm reaching back to grasp imaginary water.

And it found something else there instead.

Azula brought the lightning about, laughing to herself, and Katara watched the missile come as she extended her arm….

BOOM!

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Toph needed to get somewhere fast. Now. And there were too many in the way, too many vibrations, and she was but one very small earthbender. Zuko pushed against her and grabbed her by the shoulders, roughly moving Toph out of the path of a sword as they tried to move through the battle that boiled on in the streets.

Her irritation awoke, the bodies crowding her.

She hated being caged.

She hated being trapped as she was now, with Iroh and Zuko shouting, flames rushing, chaos howling in her ear….Aang needed her! Someone needed her, and here she was stuck behind and among these squabbling people…..

She was shoved from behind, knocked over…..

And she snapped, pushing both arms out, her lungs bursting out an order.

"**GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"**

There was an almighty, rumbling, bone-rattling, thunderous sound as the earthbender stepped forward, raising one small foot and bringing it crashing down, and a huge crack appeared that spread, growing, splitting, yawning apart as the two islands of earth were parted like a sea, a massive chasm springing into existence that forced the crowds away from the Avatar's three companions, and a Fire Nation solider screamed as he tumbled down into it.

"Miss Toph??" Iroh asked, trying to call through the stony mask that had positioned itself over the girl's face. Her hair had come loose around her, now whipping in the wind like the wing of a black bird.

She did not hear him, but her blind eyes were blazing with power as she raised one foot to step off of the small platform that she had created, to plunge into the dark cavern below.

"No, Toph, what are you doing?!"

_Thud!_

A plate of earth tore away from the abyss' side, appearing beneath her foot as she planted her first step onto it, dragging the two stunned firebenders forward, the earth flying out to meet her as she did.

_Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham_! The bridge through the gorge appeared, and her brisk, powerful stride quickly became a run as she moved, seeming to walk on air with a land path appearing just in time to catch her.

Nothing was going to get in her way, that was for sure.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aang blinked hard, looking at the Fire Lord as he stood there, feet rooted and hands spread apart with a cold, serpentine smile across his face.

Aang breathed a sigh, a gust of wind swiveling around him as he did so, and tried to ignore the fear pulsing through him that was certain to cloud up his mind.

_Well, let's go, then_.

Aang spun and pushed forwards, a scream of wind blasting down the long hall, extinguishing the torches as it went, pushing into and knocking the Fire Lord back a few steps. But he stayed upright, and a torrent of flame was sent out at the Avatar. Aang moved to push it aside, but it suddenly reared up, cycling around like a pinwheel, and then dipped down and began to spin about him, a speeding wall of flame trapping Aang there.

Ozai observed the funnel of blaze that he had imprisoned the boy in, whipping his arms around to hold it in place before he pulled his shoulders up in preparation to bring the fire closing down….it all collapsed in on itself as the fire crested like a wave…..

Then there was a massive shove against him that knocked Ozai's concentration off, threw him to the ground as the whole earth shook, the flames dissipating, and he squinted through the smoke screen.

All of the stone tile around where the Avatar had been standing had been torn up, built suddenly into some sort of casing in which a crack appeared. Followed by a second, a third….and like glass shattering, the entire shield was pushed apart, the debris hurtling across the room as the Avatar emerged unscathed. He brushed his shoulders off.

"Gotta do better than that!" the boy had the audacity to grin.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Uh."

There was a soft '_fzst_' as the lightning shrank and died, the smoking crater around the two crumbling. There was a hissing of a few sparks in the air. A drip of blood, the drawing of breaths.

Katara's eyes were glazed over now; nearly delirious with the pain she was in.

Azula's cold, mocking amber eyes moved over the waterbender's face…..

And down to observe, with a sort of detached curiosity, the pearl-handled dagger that the girl had just plunged into her.

Hmm.

Azula coughed with delayed surprise, tasting dull iron wetness in her mouth and squinting slightly. That knife, it looked so familiar. Where had she seen it? Somewhere. Sometime that felt very, very long ago.

_Zuko._

And now she was cold again, curses.

Katara pulled the knife free, in total shock as the firebender fell forward with Katara's arm no loner supporting her. Katara's instinct acted before her mind did, as usual, and she caught the fire princess before she smacked into the ground.

She was so limp, so heavy, so crushed by all of the hatred that she had lived under all her life.

Azula looked at the waterbender with a sort of worn, tired contempt, and then a hint of regret. Her gaze seemed to travel beyond Katara's face, and she wet her dry lips.

"I failed, Father," she coughed. "I'm sorry. I'm just too tired."

Katara found her voice in time to reply hoarsely, as she laid the girl down on the stone floor.

"No. You haven't failed **anybody**, Azula. You fought very well." It was the least she could say, really, it was.

Azula considered.

"I did, didn't I? Oh, and peasant…."

"Yes, Azula?" Katara strained to hear the voice.

"Tell my brother that he would have won. He was stronger, I wasn't expecting that. It'll ...make him happy."

And the features relaxed, the eyes seeming to be more at peace, and the breathing faded.

Katara bowed her head down in respect.

Satisfied that she had gotten that message, the waterbender pulled up to her feet with every part of her body crying out in protest.

She decided to allow herself a few minutes of rest as she moved towards the door, took three more steps…

And fainted.

The water she landed in pulled itself up of its own accord, wrapping gently around the girl's wounds, and set to healing them.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The spirit felt something go off kilter as it bounded forward, through the rolling mists of the Spirit World. That was odd.

It felt as though something had just escaped it, a human soul slipped out of his grasp and saved…but whose?

No matter. He needed to get to his destination with all due haste, there was a deal he needed to wrap up. The spirit was not too pleased by how fiercely the Enemy had combated him thus far, however.

And it never ceased to amaze him.

He had tried to push the Avatar into running away, filled his head with doubt and uncertainty, tempting him to escape. And yet the boy had frozen himself into an iceberg. An _iceberg!_

He had made sure that Rage worked closely with the firebender who journeyed to the South Pole on a raid, that firebender who killed the two Water Tribe children's mother. For if they both harbored even more hatred for the Fire Nation, how could the necessary alliance ever form?

And yet the Enemy had filled the girl water child with love, courage and compassion, had pushed her to reach out and forgive. Forgiveness, he hated it.

Strife had personally given the female earthbender a huge obstacle to overcome, even before her birth. Who had ever heard of a blind earthbender, after all? Certainly, she would be unable to fulfill her possible destiny as the Avatar's aid.

But the Enemy had taken Toph by the hand, guided her, opened her ears and other senses, and her affliction quickly became a blessing of the highest order.

And the boy, that stupid little prince with so much anger in him! He had come so close! The spirit had roared with joy when Zuko had turned his back on his uncle, had joined with his sister. _Haha! Now you're ours, boy!_

But something had wriggled free at the last moment, an infection of love planted in the boy's spirit that had grown every day since.

But no matter! Now he was going to get his Avatar, retrieve him for the Master, and he was going to let that world sink into lovely darkness.

There, there it was. The gateway. The spirit, whose name was War, shot forward.

And he was broadsided by a spinning, slicing, whistling gold blur that sent him off course, the hit followed by another one, a swipe of a sword.

He turned his eyes upwards, and War's dark face contorted into a frown.

A man and a woman now stood in his way, barricading his path with weapons at the ready.

"Good to see you, Roku. Lady Kyoshi." The spirit showed his long ivory teeth.

"Likewise, War. And I'm afraid we can't let you through," Kyoshi said casually, as she drew out another fan.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

A/N: **Oh my God, I killed Azula! **

**I just didn't see any other way around it! And that is something that will most likely not happen in the show. **

**Wow, now I feel really bad…but how else do you deal with someone who's about to kill you? Oh, and now you know why I just had to plant this whole 'shady deal' in. Or maybe I didn't need to. Not too sure. **

**I apologize to any Azula fans out there:( And if you're wondering, it was her that 'escaped' the spirit. Now on to Aang and Ozai, finally. Whew. Thank you for reading...**


	38. Chapter 38

**Sorry this chapter took longer than usual. I've had a lot of work to do lately, papers to write and whatnot. But I forgot to say that this fic is now two months old, as of Tuesday, and I've past 50,000 hits. Wow, thank you to all. **

**I'd also like to thank all of my anonymous reviewers here, since I can't respond to the reviews and helpful pointers you guys give. Anyway, let it be known that I don't own Avatar. Seriously, I don't.**

Chapter 38 

There was a muted sound of flesh smacking hard against flesh, and the last of the men swiveled to the ground, limp as a wet rag. Ty Lee shook out her fist with a frown: hard head.

Mai turned to her, setting the last of her knives back into place as they briskly hurried out into the main palace hall, indecisive as to what to do next.

Both stopped to catch a breath.

"Now what?" Ty Lee asked, clutching at where she had been cut. The blood had stopped flowing, at least, but now the whole hallway was tipping around a little bit. No worries, no worries.

"I don't know. Where do you suppose Azula is?"

"I don't _want_ to know," Ty Lee grumbled cryptically, looking around before leaning against a wall and allowing herself to slide down. "I think we should rest for a second."

"Best idea I've heard," Mai agreed flatly, joining her friend.

There was suddenly a huge, rumbling crash from somewhere outside, and the smooth floor beneath them jolted and cracked. The two girls were jerked forward, sprawled out on the ground. Now, what was that? Like there was some kind of earthquake….

"That doesn't sound too good."

But the crash of thunder that echoed down the hall, much closer, sounded even worse.

Well, that at least answered Ty Lee's second question.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

War stepped back a pace or two to study his opponents from a different angle, brow etched in confusion as he breathed a heavy sigh. A plume of flame and smoke came out from between his teeth as he did so, and the golden eyes studied the man in the robes with a tilt of the head.

"I should remind you, Roku, that we're all immortal. I can't imagine what you hope to accomplish."

Kyoshi responded for her companion, keeping eye contact as she turned, following the spirit's progress while he circled. Her dark eyes and pale face reflected the anger that was boiling behind them.

"We don't mean to kill you. We just need to keep you out of this final fight: remember the promise? No interference."

War laughed, casually scraping the dull iron of his claws along his breastplate. "I wouldn't go accusing anyone of interference quite yet, Kyoshi: you've been doing a fair bit of it yourself lately. Besides, my kin and I _never_ interfere. We _persuade_. These little meat bags have free will, after all: they just like listening to us more."

To that, the former Avatar had no response, but could only glare over the edge of a tessen at the spirit. She felt the tension rise in her present incarnate, felt that he was about to begin his own critical battle. So she would have to do her part now.

War was correct, though; they could start a battle now that may very well continue until the end of time.

But Kyoshi was not planning on waiting that long, and neither was Roku. Roku, standing beside her, also frowned slightly.

"I notice your companions aren't with you. You three always seem to arrive as one…."

War shrugged, the long, whip-like tail twirling about and splitting the air.

"You mean Hate and Famine? Elsewhere. Some other world, fighting with _its_ guardians, I'm sure. But enough talk."

"Yes, I agree," the tall woman nodded. War hunkered down, head now bowed beneath massive shoulders, and all three launched themselves.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aang knocked aside a blaze and sent it spiraling away, a few sparks hitting his hands. It had finally dawned upon him, probably as he had been redirecting a raging river of flame aimed at his head: that Ozai actually was trying to _kill_ him. Sure, he had known it would be the case, but it's not something that sinks in immediately. Everyone else that he had fought, faced down….they had just wanted to capture him. Imprison him. Harm him. Azula had come close to killing him, he knew that much, but it was over before he even saw it coming. This, he was facing head on.

This time he was playing for keeps.

He winced as the flame dusted his unprotected skin, and told himself to keep going, although the inner voice of encouragement was distant and surreal. Was this really it? Was this his destiny, standing here?

_No time to think about it right now_, he told himself curtly.

A shot of fire just missed roasting him to his immediate left, and Aang dodged once again. He would be doing a lot of dodging in this fight: it's not as though he would be able to take a slew of hits from the fire….

Ozai moved to strike again.

Aang slid his right foot out in a swift, sweeping motion, sending a large pulse through the floor. The action continued long after his foot had halted, an explosion of rock speeding towards the Fire Lord through the stone tiles as though before a sledgehammer.

Ozai's dark eyes widened and he himself stepped forward, hands circled in burning rage as his hands met with the onslaught.

There was a short burst of flames, a storm of smoke, and Aang was forced to duck down and sweep a wing of air over his head to avoid the blast. He tried to see through the shimmering air as it sweated in the intense blaze, and saw his opponent, still standing, with the stones puddled around him. _What?_

The rocks were repelled, the soft stone glowing and running together in the unbelievable heat. Had Ozai just _melted_ the rocks? Aang let his jaw hang open for a moment more than he should have allowed, and found himself on the defensive as careful shots of flame fired out rapidly, knocking them away with bursts of wind as he was forced backwards.

_Okay, now what?_

A ribbon of blaze flew from the firebender's hand, into the air, growing and brightening until it filled Aang's vision completely. It came plunging down onto the boy, who turned quickly out of the way….and the flame followed him, the Fire Lord yanking his arms in a series of motions and manipulating the fire like a puppet on a string.

Aang watched the agile blaze cycle back up again, and he desperately tried to knock it aside, to pull it from his opponent's grasp. No luck.

As he reached out to seize it, he found that Ozai's grip on the element was iron, perfectly mastered, fixed and unmoving. It certainly wasn't going to just slip out of his hands…

The Avatar dipped into his own inner fire, trying to fan and grow it as it came racing outward. He no longer needed to think about the process, really: it had become a second nature, as the long flame rocketed from his arm and swatted back the next barrage of fire.

Ozai pulled back the flame to his side, watched as the boy took two leaps and then rode the air to land a strike on him.

_This wasn't terribly difficult, _the Fire Lord thought casually.

With a rushing draw of wind as if the fire itself had a breath, the flames spread like a burning flower opening, to become a shield over the Fire Lord's head. The air current that swung down beat against it harmlessly.

Aang halted, suspended in midair as the wind circled against the barrier of flame, grey eyes set and locked on the dark pair of the Fire Lord's. Through the flickering screen, he saw Ozai grin coldly a moment before the flame shield snapped in, shrunk and shot outwards, a knife of dancing light that Aang felt burn his shoulder as he dodged it.

The dodge devolved into a stumble, the stumble into a somersault, as Aang went head over heels. His eyes caught on a torch before him, one that had revived after he had swept them all out.

_There!_

He jerked at the burning blaze and it came to him when he called, lashing overhead just in time to stop another ball of fire as it rushed in, then another, and another.

Why hadn't he thought to bring water along? The thought bounced around among his many others.

He pulled the fire back to stretch it into a whip, when…..

There was a sound like dry leaves in the wind, a snapping, the smell of the air being singed, that Aang had the unfortunate luck of being familiar with. And his fear threatened to take hold of him again.

He looked over at Ozai, saw the white power crackling to life over the Fire Lord's frame, twisting and writhing in a path as he moved to bring both strong hands inward.

The menacing eyes narrowed.

There was a massive thunderclap as the lighting came together and charged forward, and with a blast it dug into the wall behind Aang, knocking free a massive chunk of it where the Avatar's head had been only moments before.

Low to the ground as he shot forward yet again, Aang's mind was a beehive of thoughts.

_This wasn't working_.

It was odd, now….. Aang had never really given much thought to the details of this battle, never pictured the blow by blow of it. He had just been so focused on the outcome, that it had been overshadowed. After all, when describing an explosion, one can't start talking about the sparks.

But now, with the sights and the sounds of it around him, he dearly wished he had.

_Only thing left to do is just fight until you got nothing left_, Aang thought, in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Toph's.

_Right, got it_.

The lightning was hurled out in quick clouds of energy, but Aang was determined now. He yanked a wall of stone upwards that the lighting turned to rubble. He took another step, jerked another stone into the lightning's path to sacrifice it to the white, cold-blooded fire.

A third, until it became a rhythmic motion, pounding his way across the hall of the temple. _Fwoosh, Thump, Crash._ _Fwoosh, Thump. Crash._

Ten steps forward for the Avatar, the dust from the rubble thickening the air, and Ozai took his first backwards step, shocked as he did so. He refused to retreat before this little boy!

The flame licked off the Fire Lord's fingertips, pooling before him in a cyclone. Feeling the rhythmic pulses as the boy threw up the shields of earth, Ozai waited the spilt second between the Avatar dropping one tablet of stone to picking up another.

_Fwoosh, Thump, Crash…_

There it was. Ozai turned the inferno loose.

It soared forward like a burning dragon, seizing the small gap in the Avatar's defenses, and the airbender twisted his staff about in a tight circle, on the defensive once again. Right where the Fire Lord wanted him.

As the flames swept around on either side of him, Aang's thoughts probed outwards, searching for any sort of weapon, any more earth to grab at that hadn't been smashed to bits, any water to whip around.

And then his attention fell upon a jug that sat by one of the extinguished torches, miraculously not tipped over in the tumult.

_It would have to do_.

Aang pulled at it in one smooth motion as it burst free of its container to sing forwards to him. With a frown, Aang realized that there was no cycle to it, no push and pull, no link to his heart or to the moon…

And yet it obeyed his call anyway, the same smooth motion, the same grace as he spun it once in the air and pushed it out at Ozai.

_This isn't water…._

The whip struck the firebender, maneuvering through the blasts of flame. Cutting into his face on the left cheekbone as it grazed him and then dancing overhead, it struck his armored shoulder and gashed that as well, slicing through the metal.

It reeled back and lunged a third time, this time barreling into his front and pushing him backwards. The breath was pushed out of him for a moment, and the liquid soaked into him.

He shook away the prick of pain, the blood from the gash on his face running warmly down his neck, and Ozai pulled one hand out to swirl another inferno around him….

When something halted him, a smell he caught that now clung to him. The feel of it on his hands was unmistakable, and the blaze in his hands died quickly.

No, it couldn't be…

Aang stepped forward with a swinging blow of air that knocked Ozai backwards and off his feet. Ozai, who was now covered in the ceremonial oil used for the torches. And unable to firebend, unless he wanted to risk a very terrible and painful death. Stopped for a few seconds, at least.

Aang considered.

_Okay, so it's not the best plan, but it'll work for a little bit….provided he's the kind who doesn't like setting himself on fire…_

Aang cast a blow out once more, turning sideways to let a slug of flame howl past him when he launched it. It came clawing through the air towards Ozai, and Aang hoped the Fire Lord saw it coming…

Ozai did indeed, and pushed it backwards with all his power, trying to avoid the heat as he felt the oil continue to soak into him. _This was ridiculous…_ The earth slid out from under him, flattening the firebender onto his back, and he looked up to see a staff descending.

There was vibration of steel and a '_thunk'_ as a sword was drawn to meet the wood, Ozai holding the blade over him and throwing off the boy, springing to his feet.

"So, boy…" Ozai said casually as he dodged another strike of wind. _He was so much_ _lighter on his feet than he looked_, Aang had to reflect. Ozai kept speaking.

"….I should ask you what your purpose is here."

"I'm just doing what I've been asked to: My duty as Avatar."

Ozai laughed harshly and swung the sword about, cleaving a rock that came soaring at his head in two and keeping dead set on reaching the airbender.

"And if your duty is to die, will you do it?" Ozai sounded serious when he asked this, and Aang responded in kind, as he turned away from a bolt of lighting. It shot past him, splitting the air, pounding against the ceiling and spreading cracks across the surface with a deafening BANG. But Aang dodged the tumbling rubble to finish his thought.

"Yes."

"Why?" Now Ozai was just toying with him, Aang knew. But it was a good question anyway, especially at this critical moment. How odd it was, to be having a conversation in a life or death battle.

"Because people are counting on me. People I care about."

"Ah, as simple as that?" Ozai asked lightly, plunging the blade forward with a flashing of steel. The Avatar leapt overhead, touching down on the other side, and breathed another sigh.

"Yup."

Ozai followed the boy's motion with a twist of his torso, to face the boy head on once again as his face twisted into a cold grin. He carried no such obligations to anybody. His motives were his own, and he was not burdened by anyone else's cares and ambitions. When you loved, your decisions were no longer for yourself. The freedom and power was gone.

What a hindrance.

_Foolish boy._

_Now end this battle and be done with him._

Then, there came a clanging and a shredding of cloth as the Fire Lord hastily cast aside the upper body armor, the oil-soaked shirt. Now he was unguarded, skin exposed to the sparks and heat raging around him, but free of his fear of burning.

_A fair enough trade._

Spreading both arms apart, Ozai pushed two pulses of flame that flew outwards, circling to converge opposite him and enclosing the two combatants in an arena of twisting, dancing fire. Ozai strode forward, broad chest taking in a few gasps of air and pushing them out again with breaths of blaze.

It brought to mind Aang's vision with the Guru, and his own fears for his survival as he looked through the flame at the Fire Lord's shadowed face.

The hollows of his eyes, the etching of his jaw, and the muscles in his neck were all thrown into deep contrast. It made him look darker, crueler than before: no longer even human. The fire he bore in his hands shaped itself into two long blades that he swung around, to crash together in front of him with a shower of sparks.

"You disappoint me, boy. No wonder Zuko found a kindred spirit in you."

Aang only grunted something and rose up to full height, holding his staff before him, mind still racing as one single thought sped through.

The Guru.

The Avatar State.

He was going to have to try it. _Was it the only way?_

A flare of lightning charred the air beside him.

_Maybe so._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

War took a gasp of breath, clawing his side where the sword had just laid him open. On any mortal being, it probably would have been a killing blow. But then again, so would the burn that now covered Kyoshi's arm, put there by a torrent of War's flame, and the three vertical slashes that decorated Roku's front.

This was getting dull.

The dark spirit lunged at the woman, claws snapping out and a trail of shadow following him. Kyoshi took a wide, deep step forwards, dipping down as her opponent rushed her. Of course, the elements were no longer hers to command, in this world. They belonged to Aang; they belonged to the world she was now guarding. _Stall for time, stall for time!_

A pair of fans swept outwards and up, the iron on the edge of one raking along the spirit's plated stomach. The fans drew no blood, of course, but the spirit roared with a mixture of fury and pain as the woman threw the long body over her head, using the momentum to her advantage.

War sprang to his feet without delay, and turned to see the more recent Avatar's blade whistling down.

_Crash!_

A thick and powerful tail rushed up to meet it, locked for a moment before the sword was thrown off. The spirit writhed out of the way when the steel, relentlessly, came down yet again.

War backed away momentarily, thoughts swirling behind the cold eyes. He felt the conflict still raging on between the Avatar and the Fire Lord, angered by the lack of competency on Ozai's part. How hard could it be to defeat a little boy? He wanted his prize, and he was going to get it, or else…

_Thunk!_

All thought was swept away like a curl of smoke as the sword dove through the sprit's hand, crippling the claws that gleamed there, and the spirit's face contorted. A second later, the long tail whipped about the gash Roku, and both stepped back another pace or so from the each other.

The sprit suddenly stiffened, the pain pushed aside as quickly as it had intruded into his mind.

Now, he did not like the scent of that.

Not at all.

"What," he hissed, as he noticed Kyoshi and Roku pause as well, "is he doing there?!"

_This isn't how it was supposed to go….the boy was supposed to fight his sister! His sister! Where was that other firebending brat now, anyway? How could they have not finished their battle, with so much animosity between them? She was supposed to occupy him while….!_

War was not given much more of an opportunity to think about it, as the guardians mustered up the strength for an attack once again.

War readied himself. He had faced down far more difficult opponents than these two, surely, in the past. He was a plague to every world that the crossroads of the Spirit World led to, this little Spirit World crushed between life and death. Not to be troubled.

And yet as he parried the strike from one of the massive golden fans, he was.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

The flames around him, the heat, and the smoke, all impeded his reaction time and his ability as Aang blocked another shot. He needed to land a strike, and he needed to do it _now_. And then, should he try and go into the Avatar state? If he couldn't control it, what would happen?

If only he could clear his mind enough to do it! He would need to open all of the chakras, one after the other. No stopping this time….no matter what.

But to do it in the midst of battle?

First, get the hit in.

Aang yanked another stone out of place, a rogue chunk of earth that swung a semi-circle around him before speeding out, clipping Ozai in the shoulder with stunning force. The muffled grunt from the man indicated that something had, at least, been bruised.

Aang winced as the blow happened and instantly regretted it. But if he was going to win this, he couldn't go feeling sorry for hurting his enemy!

The boy did anyway.

_Drat._

Aang took another careful breath, in and out, in and out. It was hard not to wheeze in all the smoke and ash, eyes watering slightly, but Aang breathed even deeper and blew out an enormous gust of wind that lifted the curtain away with a rush.

And, as he was able to look at Ozai, he realized that the Fire Lord's gaze was no longer on him.

Rather, it seemed to be trained on something far behind Aang's right side, and whatever it was, it was earning a very powerful, hateful stare from the firebender's strangely dark eyes.

Aang turned his head as well and there was a loud, billowing sound as all of the fire was pushed aside, parting and vanishing. A voice rang out to him in the cavernous temple hall.

And Ozai saw a young man standing there in the clearing flames.

It was a young man in commoner's armor, with a proud, straight back and golden eyes that locked with his own without hesitation. The scar on the left side of the man's face was highlighted by the slats of sun coming down into the temple, making the air white as it caught the dust and smoke.

The fires parting for his son….it recalled Ozai's strange, dark dream once again, and perhaps, in the farthest recesses of Ozai's subconscious, a tremor of fear ran through his heart.

And something about Zuko, standing there, told Ozai that this was not the child who had grown up in the palace, who he had banished two years ago. This was not the same face that had pleaded with him, stained with tears, groveling at Ozai's feet.

No more groveling and running.

Ozai nodded to his son as he stepped forward, keeping the mask of hatred on. He had, of course, known Zuko would arrive along with the airbender into the city. But he had never anticipated facing him as he did now. Where was Azula? Azula, who had sworn to kill her brother when he came?

But Ozai knew the answer to that question, and was stunned all the more as he looked at his firstborn son.

He did not convey the emotion. If Zuko's presence surprised him, they would not know of it.

Zuko nodded to them both and silently took his place at the Avatar's side with a careful. steadying breath.

A smirk tugged at Ozai's lips, and he commented levelly, voice carrying up to the crumbling roof, "So nice to see you, Prince Zuko."

Zuko slid his feet down into a fighting stance, ignoring the racing of his heart, the blood roaring in his ears, the slight tremor that ran through him.

Was he afraid? _Most definitely._

But as a courageous young waterbender had shown him, that was fine. And he, as she did, would not let the fear rule him. Simple as that.

And Zuko mirrored the smirk, eyes flickering upon the Avatar. He tossed something casually through the air towards the boy, and Aang caught it deftly and examined it. It was a pouch of water. Aang looked at it in surprise, and the golden eyes hinted at a smile before returning to his father.

"The feeling's mutual, Lord Ozai."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Whoot! Here we go. Breaking off in the middle of a fight…like that's never happened before. Anyway, this was fairly short compared to the last one, but the fact that the battle continues for most, if not all, of the next chapter should compensate. I'll probably be including an epilogue, so this will actually be 41 chapters. **

**By the way, I changed the rating of this story. As one reviewer helpfully pointed out, it's kind of violent for a K+. I thought that since there is absolutely no cursing/adult themes/physical romance, it would be okay, but now that I think about it…So, yeah, okay. I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to hear from you soon. See you all in Chapter 39! **


	39. Chapter 39

**Well, here we go. Onwards. Disclaimer: Avatar is the property of Nickelodeon, and the brainchild of its brilliant creators. We, as fan fiction authors, bow before them. So there. Warning: Long chapter ahead!!!!!**

Chapter 39

"_Katara! Katara!"_

She reached out a feeble hand to swat the person who was yelling in her ear. Could they go away, pretty please? She just wanted to sleep. Just to pull the warm furs up over her nose, away from the bitter cold, for maybe a few more minutes.

"Not now, Dad…."

"Kah-tar-uh!"

Her name was drawn out, shouted in a desperate voice, and something shook her. As her sore shoulders hit against stone, the image of home vanished. The blankets, the South Pole, her family, peace. Not right now. Her eyes opened hesitantly, stabbed by the light that struck them, to see an identical pair a few inches from her own. They were filled with tears, of all things, and one dripped down onto her nose.

"S-Sokka?" she coughed.

Sokka gave a hitched gasp when his sister opened her eyes. He had found her laying there, Azula a few feet away, so limp, cold, and still. He hadn't wanted to check her pulse. Why? Because he had been afraid to. His whole world would have come crashing down at that silence, so he had shouted at her instead.

He grabbed her with his one good arm, hot tears wetting his sister's shoulder as he yelled hoarsely. She fell sort of awkwardly into her sibling's embrace, and her spirit instantly began to rekindle itself. Mom had been right: they were strongest when they were together.

"Don't you _ever_, and I mean **_ever_**, scare me like that again!"

"Sorry…" Katara mumbled groggily, as she rose up to her feet. Wait, what had happened to all her wounds? Had they been healed somehow?…And speaking of wounds….

"Here, let me fix that for you," Katara said firmly to her brother, as her strength and color returned. Sokka offered out his arm as Suki looked over at Azula.

"So she's dead?"

Katara gazed at the body sadly, heart heavy. _Poor girl._ _Caught up in an unending cycle of_ _hatred._ _At least she's at peace now_…And she nodded, as Sokka sensed the feeling return to his arm.

With it, he reached out and seized Katara's hand, pulling them out of the room, back into the halls, running and weaving.

"We have to get to Aang and Zuko! They're probably fighting the Fire Lord right now!"

"Where did they go?" Katara shouted back to Sokka, trying to keep her legs under her. She was still so tired from her fight: what good could she do now? _Well, she could do_ _one thing_….and Katara quietly drew something from her sleeve, pressed her lips to it, blew….

Suki responded to her question. "They left the palace, we heard them go. I think they went to that big building across the city."

The three warriors came to the front steps of the palace, which opened out onto the streets below, their eyes taking in the destruction of it in awe as they halted in their tracks.

The sun had sunk considerably while the battles had raged, the whole sky tinted with red from the sunset and stained by smoke as the capitol burned. A huge fissure had cracked the city in two, dividing the sides: Katara didn't need to wonder who had put it there. Hopefully, that would at least contain the fires, save the whole city from turning to ash. She had never quite pictured it going like this, somehow. All those people, what was happening to them?

_Why did so many innocent people have to suffer so that there could be peace_? Katara took a whiff of the smoky air, squinting out.

And yes, she spotted it, roosting above all the other rooftops across the city. It looked like a temple of some kind. Or something like that…

"How are we supposed to get there in time? We can hardly walk as it is!" Sokka cried, exasperated and looking down at his beaten-up form. He ran a nervous hand through his scruffy hair, wiped the sweat off his brow.

What, indeed.

But then Katara pointed upwards, finger spearing the sky as she did, and Sokka followed the direction with his tired eyes.

Then, there came a tell-tale grunt from overhead as all three craned their necks up. Sokka gaped.

"_**Appa!"**_

The sky bison gave a tremendous snort as his ten ton frame came crashing down, a gust of wind sweeping out and nearly knocking his friends off their feet. There were only a few moments for them to latch on: Appa was clearly in a hurry, and could probably tell that Aang was in trouble, which only increased Katara's fears. They blasted back into the sky.

"I'm coming, Aang. Don't worry," Katara muttered to herself as they whipped along, through the fans of smoke.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Rrgh!" Toph snarled through her teeth, digging her hands farther into the pillar.

"How are you faring, Miss Toph?!"

"Been better," she said breathlessly, as she pushed even harder against the stone. Toph Bei Fong, the only thing that was holding up the temple, took a breath and held her stance.

This thing she was holding above her head was huge, although maybe not quite as big as that library back in the desert. But that had been easier to hold up! Maybe it was because the library had been sinking, not toppling. Or it could have had something to do with the fact that she had just blown a two-mile long hole in the ground with her bare hands and feet not minutes before.

The temple was all cracked, destroyed from the inside out by the battle raging inside it. The vibrations were broken up and wavering, the crumbling stone hitting her shoulders as it rained down. All that weight pressing upon her was crushing, but Twinkletoes and Hothead were in there.

She couldn't just let it go.

There was a 'swooshing' noise, a brush of heat along her face as a blast of fire rushed by. Of course, people were trying to get into the temple, a bunch of soldiers. And Toph and Iroh were there to deal with it, to keep other people's noses out of Aang's business.

Toph ground her teeth, fervently hoping that Hothead knew what he was doing in there.

_What if Aang…_

_Not now. Don't you dare think about that now, Toph._

_Don't you dare._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Zuko looked at his father for a few brief moments, absorbing the sight as he did. A young man, reuniting with his father after so much time away.

_Brave solider boy comes marching home….._

Zuko had expected to feel much different than he did now, and was frightened slightly at the absence of the emotion he had been anticipating. This was the moment that he had tried to harden his heart for. _He's not your father,_ Zuko repeated to himself. _He's not your father. He killed your mother. He banished and hated you. He's your enemy._

_**He's not your father, and he never was, Zuko! He hates you**._

Zuko drew a breath and hurled a fury of blaze out, breaking the silence that clung to the air like a shroud. His roar echoed away, but was overpowered by the explosion of flame the shot from the Fire Lord's hands when Zuko moved to strike.

The fire prince wrapped his arm around the oncoming blast, mind chiseled and focused, yet unable to purge itself of all emotions. It was unable to be cleansed of impediments enough to produce lightning, even when he most needed it: if anything, it was in more of a tumult than ever. Zuko yanked at the fire, sweeping it around him, then collapsed the blaze like a fan. It vanished.

And Ozai cocked a brow for a moment. Now, he certainly had never been able to do that before…

Aang had broken open the water pouch, seized the cooling and comforting, smooth water contained inside, and twisted it once overhead for good measure. While Zuko held the Fire Lord's attention, Aang pushed out with the whip, snagging the Fire Lord's hand as he pulled it back to hurl another attack.

The water whip lashed twice around his wrist, and Aang gave a tremendous pull on it, jerking the firebender forwards and sending him crashing into the rubble-strewn ground yet again.

"Aang!" he heard Zuko shout. It was odd; he was so used to hearing "Avatar" or "airbender" that his own name sounded out of place.

He turned to Zuko as they sprang apart, a divider of lightning coming between them.

"Aang, leave him to me! Try and use your Avatar State…" the fire prince's thoughts were cut off as his father struck out with a thin, agile fire whip, searing a faint burn on Zuko's shoulder.

He growled in pain.

Aang frowned for a second, watching as Zuko hurtled forward, throwing caution to the winds. How did Zuko know about the Avatar State?

_Toph must have told him, Zuko's seen it before…now HURRY UP!!_

Aang took a breath, standing with feet spread apart, and his mind quickly unlatched before him, a bridge of stars, and a path into eternity. Flashes and images ran through his head, threatening to overwhelm his senses as he tried to observe the battle at the same time. But if Aang could master firebending, he wasn't going to let something like this get in his way.

"_It's okay to be afraid, you know."_

Aang nodded, as Zuko flew at Ozai with blazes in his hands, throwing them forward. Bam! The two fists were caught in Ozai's hands, the fires dying between his fingers, and he threw his son backwards again. Zuko hit the ground hard, but merely wiped a faint hint of blood from his mouth and stood back up.

Aang plowed forward, surprised to find that it was a different set of keys that unlocked the chakras this time.

_**Fire chakra, the chakra of willpower, blocked by shame.**_

Shame, Aang had enough experience in that. But he had mastered firebending, and it would never hurt someone he cared about ever again. And it was more than just what he could do to people if he misused his bending: it was what others could do to them as well. He would be ashamed of himself if he let Zuko or any of his friends die, but that wasn't going to happen.

Zuko, so full of will and strength, threw another shot of fire at his father.

_**Water chakra, the chakra of pleasure, blocked by guilt.**_

Aang was guilty, and he knew it. Not just of letting the airbenders die, of running away out of fear: of letting the whole world suffer, too. He had seen it as they had traveled, the slaves, the oppressed cities, all one voice crying out for deliverance. He was representing them, now. No time to wallow in guilt and self pity.

And he saw a vision of Katara, among the many images that were flashing through his brain like lightning.

Katara, who was full of joy and love, finding pleasure and good in all things. _"I'm coming, Aang. Don't worry."_

**_Sound chakra, the chakra of truth, blocked by lies._**

Ozai had asked Aang if he would die willingly, if that was his duty.

Aang had said yes, and he had meant it.

That was the truth and there was no changing it. He was the Avatar, no more running from that: and he needed to be strong. He had enough support to be so, because he knew that he wasn't alone. And that was the truth as well. He thought of Iroh.

Iroh, always willing to offer a word of wisdom. Perhaps the Dragon of the West saw the truth better than any of them did.

Aang's eyes cleared as he heard a roar of pain, and a desperate conflict was born within him. He saw Zuko hanging back, clutching one leg and favoring another as he watched lightning awaken in his father's hands…it ripped outwards to smite him…

And Zuko leapt forward once again, receiving the lightning in one hand, smirking for a split second at the reaction written on his father's face, and then the lightning flared out into the open again, to blast a sizeable whole at Ozai's feet as the Fire Lord twisted away, shielding his face.

Zuko happened to look over at Aang, and Aang saw that the younger firebender was drawing long, gasping breaths.

"Why are you stopping? Keep going, Avatar!"

Aang listened, urging himself to hurry as the ground suddenly shook. Oh no, the temple….

_Listen to Zuko! Keep going!_

What was next? What chakras are left? The knowledge was dropped into his head when he begged for it.

**_Light chakra, the chakra of insight, blocked by illusion._**

And what was the biggest illusion in Aang's life, personally? That people didn't change. Because after Zuko had betrayed his uncle, sided with Azula, Aang had thought it to be true. That evil would never turn good, and that forgiveness was a waste of time. They could never have been friends, and he was foolish to think of it.

And now, look who was protecting him.

As Monk Gyatso had always told him, you must see with both ears open. How weird it had sounded, and Aang had looked at him with confusion when he heard it. See and hear, never do only one. That was the key to insight.

Another tremor shook the ground as the temple crumbled, a firestorm roaring to life between the Fire Nation royals as they fought. Zuko had hefted up the sword that had previously lain forgotten. and swiped out at his father with it.

_**Earth chakra, deals with survival, blocked by fear.**_

It was okay to be afraid, because he had people to support him. He had been afraid for his survival, afraid of losing the love that had carried him here. But Katara had embraced him, and let him know that she, that _they_, were always there for him. Now, with a family like that, how could anyone be afraid? Toph, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Iroh…even Zuko.

His whole family, as mismatched as they where.

Outside, Toph firmed up her stance again, vowing to hold on for one more minute. And when she got to the end of that minute, she made the same promise.

Step by step.

_**Thought chakra, deals with cosmic energy, blocked by earthly attachments.**_

Funny, he knew there was one more chakra after this one, this one that had been his stumbling block before. But it came to mind next, and he faced it head on….

It didn't matter who made Katara happy, because as long as she was, he was content. That was love, and not earthly attachment of any sort. And that was that.

Zuko turned from the blaze, now caught in a violent stalemate with his father as they dodged and struck. It was almost a bloody, deadly dance of sorts, as both tried to gain the upper hand, swiping flames over each other's head, Zuko feeling his back get brushed by the fire. A moment later, his father seized him by the throat, shaking him like a disobedient child and casting him aside once more.

_Why doesn't he just kill me?_ Zuko wondered as he gagged, trying to draw another breath.

A rush of stone tumbled down, and Zuko was shocked that the temple had stood for as long as it had, what with the scars of lighting blackening the ceiling. Ozai surveyed his son, dark eyes widening as Zuko pulled to his feet yet again.

Who was this young man, really? This man who had been knocked down and kept getting up, who was matching him blow for blow, and who Ozai could not land the final strike upon? The Fire Lord tried to ignore the gasps of air that he himself was taking, noting how much strength had been spent battling the airbender.

Zuko looked over at the Avatar.

_Hurry up, boy._

**_Last chakra, the chakra of love, blocked by grief._**

Now, what was this?

Aang saw someone he had never laid eyes on before in his entire life, suddenly, as clear as though she had been standing in front of him. Dark hair, gray eyes, with a simple and honest smile.

In his mind's eye, she stood there at the end of the bridge of stars, and he felt as though he was being embraced as he heard a voice in his ear… _"Send him someone to protect him, someone to care for him, teach him, and love him. Everything one needs, really. No matter what his destiny."_

And that someone had, indeed, been sent to him.

Someone to love him, free him from his guilt, his sorrows, his fears. And someone that he would save from hers, as well.

A single face passed before his vision.

And his eyes snapped open, and they were filled with an iridescent light like the moon's glow.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Katara gasped when she saw it.

There was an explosion that sent a sweep of light across the rooftops of the whole city, a BANG like a sun bursting to life, a comet crashing to earth.

A sword of light rocketed from the roof of the temple they were flying towards.

It was framed by the red light of the sun, the warm hues of day's end, as it jabbed into the sky, parting the wispy clouds, a beacon that was seen for miles.

Across the bay, as the last of the Fire Nation men were imprisoned, Hakoda stood on deck in marvel of it.

And his daughter looked upon it, realizing quickly what it was.

It reminded her of the light that had shone out when they had first freed Aang of the iceberg, when they had first found him. How long ago had that been? She couldn't think of it.

Sokka's eyes reflected the ghostly white light as it tore through the roof, blinding any who happened to be looking at it for a few seconds.

"Hurry!" she called, hoarsely and needlessly.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Toph felt it too, Iroh and the men they were fighting all shouting as one.

She had held on as long as she could, and ripped her hands from the massive stone pillar. Aang was in there.

This was it.

She only hoped the massive stone structure would hold up long enough for the airbender to do what he needed to, and Toph sprinted forwards into the temple, the screaming of a cycling wind in her ears, her hair floating about her.

_Hurry,_ she told herself.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

War gasped as though he had just been stabbed, a second after he had been grinning coldly.

His long jaw snapped a few times in disbelief, his black hide convulsing in a shiver, as he looked out at the scene before him. He was standing there beside the two firebenders, all three dueling spirits having temporarily abandoned their Spirit World battle and shot through the portal.

None could see them, of course, what with the Avatar deep in the corridors of his mind, but they were there.

War had been there, flitting about the fire prince's head as he battled, and hissing in his ear.

**_Your father hates you, Zuko. He never loved you at all_**….

Pushing words of hatred into the boy's mind, in hopes to make him strike in blind rage and impale himself upon the sword of his own foolishness. Roku and Kyoshi kept trying to hack him away from the boy, but War was nimble.

Oh, this just may turn out alright for him…

But then he had heard a click. He had heard the sound of the bridge being finished, as the Avatar connected to the plane of reality on which War dwelled.

Roku and Kyoshi vanished, and there was a light like a star before him, the wailing of wind. War was cast off Zuko's shoulder and sent flying.

_Oh no._

…………………………………………………………………………………………...

Ozai had trouble rooting himself in place, trying to fight the wind that was spinning around the boy. The earth around him began to lift as well, the stone tiles flying neatly from their places in the floor, rising up and speeding forward to be caught in a dance around the Avatar like a tornado of leaves.

The airbender was bathed in a light so white and pure that it stung Ozai's gaze….or was the boy _emitting_ the light? He squinted through his hands to try and see, with Zuko beside him. His son's eyes were wide as well, but it didn't seem to be with fear so much as awe.

A voice echoed out to him, sounding as though it rang out a thousand times over, and shook the very foundations of the temple as the unnatural sound flowed from the young boy's mouth.

Ozai's heart plunged in fear, the bottom gone from his stomach. He was a man before his judgment, who has found that he has nowhere left to run.

"_Ozai! You and I have a score to settle!"_

Ozai was frozen for a moment, but only a moment. He summoned all of the flame that he could into his hands, emptying his center completely, the fire growing and consuming all that was around him.

He poured it all outwards and hurled it….

Only to have it swept aside as though it were child's play. And a breath of time later, a jolt of earth hit him.

The Fire Lord was thrown backwards, heard the sound of crushing in his torso. It was an ugly, dull, wet snapping sound, as Ozai felt something shatter, most likely the ribs.

He coughed, and tasted blood in his mouth.

But he got to his feet again. If Zuko could do it, so could he.

The Avatar's feet were no longer touching the earth, as the winds whipped around him faster, a violent storm now that had blown even Zuko backwards as the destruction spread.

Zuko felt his body slide across the floor, unable to halt himself, and he turned to take a few running steps back: which was when he collided with a small figure, standing there, who shouted something unintelligible. Zuko looked down at the earthbender.

"Zuko, what's going on?!" she screamed over the wind, raven hair lashing about.

"He triggered his Avatar State, just like you said! We should get out of the way!"

"NO!" she roared in response, throwing off his arm. "I'm. Staying. Right. HERE!!"

For emphasis, she yanked up what little floor there was left, closing it over her legs, rooting herself in place.

She wasn't going anywhere unless Aang was.

"Aang!" came another shout behind them. Zuko turned to see Katara racing in against the gales, Sokka and Suki close behind, looking like some sort of apparition as she appeared.

The fact that she was alive flashed through Zuko's mind long enough to bring him a moment's relief, before there was an almighty crash.

Aang was now a good ten feet overhead, and another strike of wind pummeled the Fire Lord.

And Aang saw it happen as he did, almost overwhelmed by the power he felt surging through him. He was fully aware of everything he was doing, although it felt like a waking dream, as he pulled a massive torrent of fire from his infinite pool of power and threw it outwards. There was a roar of effort that resounded back in his head.

He turned his attention downwards then, and a thousand hands guided his own as he splayed his fingers, whole focus turned upon the floor.

Plunging down, deeper, deeper, deeper, shoving rocks and earth aside as he sought it out.

_Deeper_, he ordered, and his subconscious obeyed, until it found what he was looking for.

And Aang pulled.

There was a rumbling, rushing sound, the roaring of an ocean wave, and up from the depths of the earth far beneath the temple, far beneath the city, there was an explosion of water as it burst like a geyser through the floor, bending into a flowing serpent around the Avatar.

As the typhoon appeared, Ozai could deny it no longer.

He was afraid.

And there was a consuming gush of water as it struck out, the white foam pushing the exhausted Fire Lord back even farther, pressing him against the wall as he tried to shake off the hit. He couldn't do it, could only try and cough as each jerk of his chest stabbed him.

"I am not going to die like this," he snarled, a drop of blood falling from his mouth, frozen in his memory as it splashed onto the floor.

With all the power remaining in him, Ozai called the lighting forward once more, feeling it building around him as he forced aside the fear that he was drowning in, focusing, no longer able to even breath properly as he did so.

The cold fire danced in him, collecting in a storm, and the strands of electricity repelled the next blast of air that came at him, turned the next chunk of stone to dust. Building, building…

And Ozai aimed his arm forward, lifting it an excruciatingly painful task, a path for the lightning to follow.

It aligned with the airbender's heart.

And he was certain that it would strike true, as he pulled the lightning together…

Zuko watched it, watched Aang, and something tore loose inside him.

He ran forward.

His mind was cleared as suddenly as if there had been an explosion within it, sweeping away all the fear, all the rage, all the hatred that he carried so close to his heart.

The shame was no longer there, banished from him by the waterbender.

The false pride had left long ago, when he had first called others 'friends.'

_With the knowledge of all the past Avatars, surely there was a powerful firebender somewhere in that history who has some knowledge of lightning._

And then, howling through his veins, a perfectly chilling, instinctive, monstrous killer rocketed outwards from his center, a blast of light nearly blinding Zuko as the lightning, _his_ lightning, left him.

"_AVATAR!"_

The boy, and all who he had been before this moment, turned to see the lightning approaching and reached out a hand, fingers pointing forward as he did.

_A path for the lightning: let the energy in_…Roku spoke into his ear.

_The flow of the energy, pull it under your power and make it follow your motion_…a past Water Nation Avatar spoke to him, pulling and pushing the flow of the lightning through the boy's body.

Ozai, watching in total shock as his son, his Zuko, unleashed the infamous cold fire, turned his own on the Avatar.

And Zuko's lightning tore free from Aang, charging forward.

The two massive lightning bolts met in midair.

**BOOM**

There was another huge blast, its predecessors paling in comparison.

It was the sound of the end of the world, the whole fabric of space collapsing around the Avatar's companions as they ducked down, reality knocked off of balance.

The light and energy spread, filling the room, filling the city, rushing out with the sound whistling behind it like a speeding wall.

And the two lightning strikes held fast, neither strong enough to overpower the other…

But only for a moment.

And with a ripping, roaring, cracking sound of thunder, both knocked the other aside and raced towards their targets.

Both struck.

And there was a softer flash of light, the wind picking up around them, the temple finally collapsing with it. It fell with the finality of the walls of Jericho, no longer able to withstand the blows to it, hurtling down.

The ancient stones came crashing onto them, ready to crush everyone beneath them…

It was all repelled by a white shield that exploded outwards, hurling all of the stone away and sending it flying, clearing the debris as the light of the sunset fell upon the scene.

The soft red and orange, the fading light of the day, revealed it for all to see.

Breaths held as their eyes took it in.

And there was Aang, no longer swirling with power, drawing shaking breaths on his knees, fighting the darkness that so badly wanted to close in on his vision as he tried to see.

A large, black, charred, foul- smelling mark covered his narrow chest, a few trails of smoke rolling off it as he coughed in pain.

His vision cleared enough to look at Ozai.

And Ozai was knelt over as well, shaking, his hair clinging to his back with water and sweat, pale skin coated in grime and soot. He too clutched a black mark. One that covered only his shoulder, still very painful, but it was not over the heart.

Aang blinked at the Fire Lord, and ever so slowly, ever so painfully and terribly slowly, he rose to his feet, amid a puddle of water and the rubble of stone.

But it was all gone.

No strength left. It simply _wasn't _anymore.

It didn't matter. It didn't matter at all.

Aang, in his last, weary act of defiance, slid into a fighting stance once again, and a smile tugged at his mouth.

The Fire Lord looked upon the boy, coughing up another mouthful of blood as he did. His haze was clearing, not thickening, and he glared at the child who stood across from him, no more than twenty feet away.

Weak and defenseless.

A small crackle trembled across the Fire Lord's arm. He was going to finish this.

_Now._

And by his ear, a spirit roared in pleasure, shadows around him shaking and dancing. Yes! Victory was so close that War could taste it.

War looked over at the Dragon of the West, and his leathery face grinned at the man who could see him. The child probably couldn't, in the battered state that he was in. But War was much more interested in allowing Iroh a glimpse. Yes, he remembered the man.

What a delight it had been to take his son away. Oh yes, indeed.

**_Now finish it, Ozai_,** War probed.

The lightning grew very slowly, Ozai taking increasingly deep breaths, looking into the Avatar's exhausted eyes. The boy with the weight of the world upon his shoulders. And what small and narrow shoulders they were.

Ozai pulled his arm back.

He narrowed those dark eyes.

He shut off every emotion that could possible infect his mind at this crucial moment, as they had tried to infect his whole life.

And as Ozai readied himself to launch the blow, the dark eyes widened again.

A very tired young man, shoulders sagging, bleeding, limping, stepped in front of the boy, the golden eyes as fierce and fresh as ever.

And Ozai stopped.

He stared his son down, at where the boy swayed, standing in the lightning's path in front of the Avatar. What was he hoping to do?

_So just blast right through him_, Ozai sneered to himself, the lightning still hovering at the tips of his fingers. His eyes flitted over to the companions of the Avatar, all frozen in place and waiting. Smart. At least they knew that the lightning would kill the two boys if anyone took a single step forward.

_Go on! Do it!_

Ozai readied himself to, when he made the grave error of looking directly into his son's eyes and fixing his gaze there.

They were Ursa's eyes, he had always known that. Even if Zuko's face reflected Ozai's own, the golden eyes would always belong to the boy's mother. It was the first thing he had remarked upon, when they handed his infant son to him, so pale and weak. He had looked over at his wife, compared the two pairs, found them to be a match.

Ursa had smiled wearily at him.

Ursa.

And he remembered that night, that night that had handed him the crown, which had steeped him even farther into the darkness that spoke to him in dreams.

He had been going to kill Azulon himself, slit his sleeping throat with a tiny silver dagger. The throne would be his then, certainly. Ozai was clever enough to escape any conviction, and then the Fire Nation would be in the palm of his hand.

But also, in the recesses of Ozai's mind, he had been angry. Angry at Azulon for trying to take away something that was his, Ozai's. Zuko was _his_ son, and he _alone_ would decide what happened to him.

Never had Ozai expected to find Ursa there, with some strange, foreign, noble light in her eyes, the same light Ozai saw in his son's now. Ursa, who he knew he could not trust anymore, when he had walked in. He did not know this woman, and had reacted almost without thinking.

There could be no secrets carried between two hearts, in the complexities of the court and the monarchy. One of them would break and betray them both, and Ozai was sure it would be Ursa.

And so he had killed her.

But she had pleaded with him a moment before her death...

"…_leave my son be."_

And now, as he remembered, that small imperfection on his iron heart was itching at him again. The memory of his son, so small, so innocent, calling out to his father as he hurried away.

"_Love you, Dad!"_

_Don't be **foolish**, Ozai. You know that love is only something that detracts from power. You've come this far, there is no turning back now!!_

"Zuko," Ozai spoke, his voice cracking and splitting as he held back another cough from his battered lungs, "move aside."

"No."

"No?"

Zuko shook his head. "Father," he spoke, clearly, "I will not move from this spot. So do what you must." There was no weakness, no begging in the young man's voice. He was not afraid, even in the face of death.

And in that single moment, Zuko unknowingly did what he had been trying so hard to do all his life.

He earned his father's respect.

_**DO IT!**_

War had screamed it that time, desperately roaring, his innards contorting in abject terror as he heard the Fire Lord's thoughts. Why wouldn't he finish this? Kill the prince and kill the Avatar, so that War could rush forward and seize his prize? No! What was this, now?

He wouldn't lose, not after waiting a hundred years.

War drew back his maimed hand, preparing to wisp it right through the firebender, directly into the mortal's spirit, to crush the strange sensation that was going on there. To stop the dangerous stream of thought, this invasion of the Enemy, running through the Fire Lord's head.

War prepared to…

When a sword sang through the air and cut the claw clean off.

"No interference," Roku pronounced, suddenly beside the spirit of war. Between gags of pain, War managed to choke out his indignation.

"So what about you? You don't call _that_ interference?!" He pointed his one hand at the motionless Fire Lord.

"It's not us," Kyoshi shrugged.

"What?!"

"Like you said before," Kyoshi grinned at him, "free will."

"**No**…."

Roku nodded, one brow raised. He had not been expecting this, and all held their breaths.

Ozai continued to look at his son.

The Avatar shoved Zuko out of the way then, and moved to step around him, when Ozai suddenly lowered his arms.

The lightning faded and disappeared along his hand as it fell to his side.

And the Fire Lord's body could hold no longer. He fell forward on his knees, caught by his own arms against the hard stone floor, the remains of the temple.

He looked up at his son, who was dusted by the light of the setting sun, and he bowed his head.

He coughed.

_Do it_…the voice almost begged.

And Ozai realized, disgusted with himself, that he could not.

Never had he imagined that he would do this, but then, life is just full of surprises. He spoke clearly, bowing his head deeper.

"I surrender.The city is yours."

Total silence, holding like crystal before someone dared to break it.

"What?" Aang breathed, shaking his head out.

"What?" Zuko echoed, eyes wide as he looked at his father's pitiful form.

There was a series of gasps from his companions, as Katara finally moved forward towards them.

But War could only wail in fury and fear, the sound carrying away into the depths of the Spirit World as he and the past Avatars vanished back through the portal.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

"Finish me," Ozai growled, as his son walked forward slowly.

Zuko halted, surveyed his father in such a broken state as he readied himself. Finish him? Yes, that was what he had come here to do……

Wasn't it? Wasn't it to avenge the death of his mother?

_His mother_.

Zuko's eyes were blocked by the memories of her, momentarily.

What would she think if she could see this now, her son about to kill his father and feed the infectious hate that had so long dug itself into the royal family?

And Zuko gave his reply, the single hardest thing he had ever had to say in his entire life, as the war raged within him.

"No."

Ozai looked up at him through fading eyes, and Zuko continued.

"Mom wouldn't want it to be that way."

He still hated his father, still promised to never forgive him. But Zuko wasn't going to kill him.

Ozai opened his mouth to speak, but his body could fight no longer with the wounds. His hands slid forward, slumping as he sank into unconsciousness, the last image he saw being his son over him, framed in light, as he had seen in his dream.

Odd, defeat was almost pacifying, as though a set of talons had been pulled from his heart.

Ozai welcomed the rest, but Zuko was unable to.

Because behind Zuko, another fell as well.

Aang had found that he could hold off the blackness and the pain no longer either, the wound from the lightning running deep, and he collapsed, not feeling it as he hit the ground, not hearing the shouts as Katara lunged forward to catch him.

_Lifting, floating, free._

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Toph ran forward and fell beside him as well, with Katara's cries muting in her ears, the rare sensation of warm wetness pooling in her blind eyes.

And she was back on the ice as a child, cold and alone.

She reached out a hand, laid it upon her friend, and she felt no vibrations as she searched for them. No, this wasn't happening. It couldn't! She wouldn't let it!

The bird's wings were silent, no vibrations, no rhythm, and no heartbeat. Only horrible, hateful silence.

And the sure, firm earth dropped from beneath her as Toph cried out to him.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"What, am I dead?"

Aang found it strange, that he had gotten here so quickly, with the mists of the Spirit World rolling about his ankles. This was supposed to be ceremonial or something… wasn't it? Death was supposed to be a big deal. He crossed his arms in front of him, looking at Roku as they stood across from each other, rather surprised.

Wow, he looked like he had just gotten into a huge fight or something.

Roku looked at the boy for a moment and smiled, then cocked his head to listen as a voice echoed through the space around the two Avatars.

"_Aang, don't you dare! Come back, do you here me? Come back or I'm going to come there and drag you back myself…please don't go!"_

Aang let a smile spread across his own face, and his heart felt like it was being tugged at fiercely as the voice called out.

"Toph…"

"Hmm. She sounds pretty angry."

Aang looked back at Roku, grey eyes wide, and he cleared his throat as he awaited a response from the towering man to his first question. Roku sheathed a bloody sword, and very slowly…

He bowed to the boy.

"You have done very well, Avatar Aang. The Hundred Year War is brought to a close at last, and you have secured your place among the greatest of us. Be warned, though, there are still many trials ahead for you."

Aang stopped what he was about to say, opened and closed his mouth a few times, to sputter out something else instead.

"Wait. Am I going back?"

"In a way. A second chance, so use it wisely! After all, it's not your turn yet. There are still many, many things left for Avatar Aang to do, boy. I suggest you start at the Western Air Temple."

"Huh?"

But Aang felt another strange sensation, this one like he was falling upwards or something, the light pulling at the corner of his eyes as he was pulled backwards. He heard the distant sound of Roku laughing out, "Go quickly, boy! Before your time runs out!"

_Falling, faster, faster, faster……_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_Plop_.

Aang felt it splash upon his nose, a warm, salty little raindrop. His face twitched, and he realized that something was brushing up against his cheek, that there was a muffled, heart-wrenching sound coming from somewhere close to his ear.

His eyes cracked open slowly, and he saw only strips of black silk in his bleary vision…no, beyond that was the dusky sky, the smoke from the city, the light of the world he had finally been able to save.

And there was a _heavy_ weight pressing on his chest.

Aang sneezed, and there was a sharp intake of breath as a pair of green eyes met with his own, the pale face framed in the freed dark hair.

Aang's narrowed slightly, and he coughed.

"You know Toph..." he murmured at her, grinning at her shocked expression, "you should wear your hair like that more often."

"**AANG!"**

Katara screamed, her face stained with tears as well as she tried to crush him in an embrace as gently as possible, and Aang returned it as well as could be expected. Behind her, Sokka breathed a sigh of relief, and Zuko's shoulders slumped considerably.

The fire prince was able to swallow the strange sensation sitting in his throat, to wipe away the foreign wetness that had been previously gathering at the corners of his golden eyes.

"_Twinkletoes!"_ Toph roared, snatching him and nearly breaking his ribs, not nearly as careful as Katara, "You **twit**! How could you do that to us? Lucky you woke up when you did, because I would have had to march into that little Spirit World and kick your sorry butt!"

She sniffled, which sort of detracted from the menacing aspect of her threats.

Aang looked down as she hugged him tighter, into the face he had seen in his mind's eye, as the final gate had given way.

Odd, how when he had had his fortune told, there had been no love in his future.

Oh well.

They say your second life is never quite like your first.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

And in the Spirit World, a little girl looked around hesitantly, her amber eyes trying to see though the haze and the clouds as they spun about her. She looked to be about four years old or so, preserved in her early youth, at the time of innocence in her life before the she was caught up in war and hurt.

Where…..

Ah, there she was!

Finally!

The girl bounded forward, eyes wide and tearing, short arms out, and she took a running leap at the person who was waiting for her.

"Momma! Momma!"

A beautiful woman with golden eyes reached out and received the daughter that she had been so sure was lost to her forever, sweeping her up and holding her tightly, planning to never let go. She lifted the girl away from her to look her in the eyes, still smiling. The little girl cocked her head.

"Momma, why did you go? Why did you leave?" the little girl asked, as her mother set her down and took her hand.

"I'm so sorry, love. I'm sorry I had to go."

The little girl hung her head in shame.

"I'm sorry too, Momma. I was…."

The woman laughed, realizing that she too was crying, as mother and daughter walked forward. It did not matter now, because her daughter had been snatched back from the darkness. It would never cease to thrill her, seeing the darkness be overcome.

And they approached a portal, bathed in light.

With a sudden frown, the little girl cast a glance over her shoulder and halted them both.

"Mom, where are Dad and Zuko? Shouldn't we all be together?"

The woman looked back as well, and a smile came to her lips. Zuko had done so well, and she was so proud of him now, more than ever before. He had finally learned. She felt at peace, knowing he was in good hands. And as for Ozai, the man that the young girl she had once been had loved….

"They still have their trials to overcome. But I think they're on the right path…and soon, we'll all be a family again!"

The little girl smiled, and then turned into the light as they continued forward.

"Mom, are we going home now?"

"Yes Azula, we're going home."

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

**A/N: I will say now that I was originally planning on killing Ozai. Really, I was. And then I thought of how psychologically damaging it would have been for Aang to have to kill him, not to mention for Zuko. Regardless of what they've done, having to kill a parent that you have loved and yearned for the affect of for most of your life is bound to leave scars, and I didn't want to send Zuko's character development back to square one ……. I'll include everything else I want to say in the next author's note. Hope you liked it.**


	40. Chapter 40

**Alright, well, here we go. Sorry this took me a while, I've been very preoccupied. See the author's note stuff at the end of the chapter. This one definitely won't be as long as the last one. I don't own Avatar.**

Chapter 40

War hissed as he clutched at the mangled remains of his claw, seething and spitting out bursts of flame from between his long teeth. The soft shadows of the Spirit World swirled darkly about him, and War gave a thought to the other wounds that crossed his body.

Curses.

Curse that boy, the Avatar, the Fire Nation, all of them….and then there was a chuckle behind him. War whipped his lithe, powerful form around to see.

The golden eyes narrowed as he did, and another bubble of fire puffed out of his sooty lungs.

"Spite, what do you want?"

The smaller, stouter spirit shrugged, looked at him with beady little eyes, and then scuttled over to sit beside his kin with a wicked grin plastered onto his face.

"I see it didn't go very well," Spite smirked, inspecting his own hand which was missing the third claw, cut off some time prior by a guardian spirit. War wondered if he could tear the meddlesome brat in two as he continued his speech. "You've just wasted 100 years of our time. Didn't count on the Fire Lord mortal turning, did you?"

"No…"

"Didn't count on the little prince opening his heart, did you?"

"No."

Spite cackled again, and then dodged out of the way as a shadowy arm swept out to cut him in two. He was Spite: he couldn't resist. War felt the need to retaliate.

"At least I do something. You just make the weaker humans dislike each other and play little nasty mind games."

"At least I know my place. Better than what's going to happen to you, once the Master finds out: that's for sure and for certain!"

War leaned farther over the ruined claw, knowing that there would probably be no saving it. And Spite leaned closer to him.

"What I never understand is why you bother in the first place. You come and feed the flames of mortal's hate for each other and then leave them to their own ends…well, this was a special case, I assume."

"I could have gotten the _Avatar_! Had I been able to capture him, that powerful entity, that world would have been left without a hope until the final days! And in a world without hope, so many turn away from love, from faith…it would have been a _paradise_," War growled. What good were all the other mortal spirits he collected, in comparison? Not to mention the fact that he had lost both the Fire Lord and his daughter now.

"Why do you do it?"

"You mean 'why do we do it', Spite."

The smaller spirit acknowledged that. Granted, his business was on a much pettier scale, but it was the small things that added up. After all, the safest path into darkness was the one of a steady slope that you are not even aware of. Yes, why indeed.

War responded.

"Because we are to battle until the end: that is why. And if there is any way that I can cause destruction, death, savagery and mistrust, I will gladly do it."

"I don't know why we keep fighting a battle we've already lost…"

The spirit, the demon, whichever name was preferred, looked over and scoffed, thinking critically of what was going to happen to him once this news spread.

War shuddered and picked himself up to pursue Spite as they bounded away. But the spirit was correct: this whole thing had been a failure.

How the Enemy managed it War would never fully understand. And why did he value the mortals so, that he would protect and guide them? There must be some selfish, ulterior motive: there was no other plausible answer. Even if he had been one of _them, _once, so long ago, the demon spirit whose duty it was to cause massive destruction among the mortals would never understand.

Hmpf.

Humans.

They would never cease to baffle him.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Aang sighed into the sheets of the bed, whole body limp and exhausted but still feeling free as he had ever been. It was like flying... only there was a soft, expensive, fancy blanket surrounding him.

He blinked away the grogginess that pooled in his head, looking at the firelight burning across the room and realizing he was in some sort of infirmary, and that he was very, very sore.

But the feeling was still marvelous and surreal, in its own way. Like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders: which it had.

Even now, he couldn't comprehend it.

He had managed it, somehow. He had saved the world, done his duty, and fulfilled his destiny….with the help of everybody else, of course.

_Oh, right!_

Where was everybody?

He tried to sit up gingerly, and in the process disturbed the head that had involuntarily flopped against the side of the bed and was emitting very un-ladylike snores as usual. Its owner shot awake in a hurry.

"Wazzat…Hey, Twinkletoes…" Toph rubbed her eyes and ruffled her disheveled hair to push it out of her face, which only succeeded in messing it up farther.

Aang looked critically at her, wondering if she had gotten any sleep at all save the impromptu nap that he had just interrupted, and asked, "Where is everybody?"

"Doing stuff. Katara wanted me to be here if you woke up."

"Uh….how long have I been out for?"

"A few days," she shrugged. _Two days, eight hours, fifteen minutes and three seconds,_ she thought in the back of her head.

"Whew, really? Wow, I'd better get moving..." he turned his body to slide out of bed, stomach growling very loudly as he did so. Toph's small hand moved against him and she pushed him backwards from his path while she offered him a dish of non-descript food.

A second of consideration from the airbender followed.

He leapt upon it, still feeling as though this whole thing was a dream.

_Was it really over? Was it?_

He bombarded his earthbending teacher with questions as he crammed his mouth full of food, suddenly ravished with the fate of humankind no longer hanging over his head. What had happened to Hakoda's fleet? How were the casualties? What had happened to Azula? (The response to that one took time to digest) And where was Ozai now?

Toph tried her best to answer, although her own brain was not quite working properly. She had placed being with Twinkletoes above her own need for sleep for reasons that were her own, after he had passed out cold in the remains of the Fire Temple.

Since then, she had just "watched him" all the while, even daring to trace a finger along the funny little nose that he had and make him sneeze. The ears, the comforting, whispering vibrations, that tiny and self-assured bird that had comfortably returned into his chest, and now the happy, sunshine voice: so terribly, laughably sweet, so utterly and wonderfully _Aang._

Her world had ended in the brief window of time that she thought she had lost him, after the final battle. She had lived the rest of her life, in her mind, without him, the years spreading out before her as she had yelled in raging grief. And that glimpse of her future?

It had been absolutely horrible.

But not to worry, because the world had pulled back together and now it was really, honestly complete…. perhaps for the first time in her life.

The earthbending master sighed loudly, and rose up to go.

"I'll go find Katara, I'm sure she'll want to see how her patient is doing…"

Aang watched her get up to leave, a tired shuffle in her step, and he smiled brightly, wondering if she could tell the expression on her face now.

Toph. His Toph.

It was funny, how in that swamp he had seen her, _"The people we've lost, people we've loved…."_

And yet time was an illusion, as he had learned. He had seen her and known he was to meet her, two paths linked together and fated to cross.

Funny, he had lost her as well. Or, more accurately, _she_ had lost _him_. But Aang had made a promise to himself to never let her feel alone and scared again, and he was a man (or boy) of his word.

"Hey, Toph?"

"Yeah?" She stopped mid-step and turned back to the sound of his voice, her blind eyes managing to look right at his own under quirked eyebrows.

"You know, when I was out, right after the fight…."

"Mmm-hmm…." She prompted.

"I heard someone shouting to me. They sounded really mad, too, threatening to come and beat some sense into me…"

"And I would have, don't think otherwise," Toph nodded resolutely, hands on her hips as she said so.

That was when he realized that she was wearing her hair down.

He smiled even more, looking at her as he very quietly began to slide out of bed, and he thought of the other girl that he had been so smitten with, but in another way, somehow.

Katara.

He loved Katara, he always would.

But as Guru Pahtik had told him, when he came to the Eastern Air Temple after the fall of Ba Sing Se, there are many different kinds of love, and all of them are important.

Love.

He would certainly never let go of the kind that finally realized itself, sitting there and looking at the blind, rock-solid earthbender with power that frightened him and a caring, fierce devotion that he wished he could match.

Because letting go of Toph would be like letting go of half of his heart.

Aang leapt free of the covers, aches and pains vanishing as he floated forward. He reached out and tapped Toph on the shoulder.

"Tag, you're it!" he laughed, and raced away with a peal of mirth following him.

"Twinkletoes!" Toph shouted, exasperated, also caught up in laughter with her own fatigue gone.

And she raced after him.

She would follow him anywhere, and down the hall was not too much to ask.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hakoda sighed very heavily as he watched the boats be repaired from his position on the docks, with his children beside him. The memorial service for all of the fallen had taken place that day, finally, a week after the battle for the Fire Nation capitol.

Hakoda was proud of them, there was no questioning that.

He only wished that he could undo these past few years for his son and daughter; change everything so that they could be simply children back in the South Pole where he could actually watch them grow up _slowly_, like every child should, living normal lives rather than ones of young diplomats and warriors.

But if he couldn't change the past, he may as well enjoy the present.

"So Dad," Sokka spoke up lightly, "Where's Kuei?"

Hakoda smiled at that, still baffled by the fact that he owed the bumbling Earth King his life: in the midst of the battle, he had been struck from behind by a solider, one wielding a good-sized chain sickle that was intent upon cutting him to pieces. The Water Tribe warrior had been braced for the worst, crouched low to the deck, as the Fire Nation solider had stepped forward…

And the blue eyes had widened as a sword had suddenly sprouted from his attacker's abdomen.

When the body had fallen, sure enough, there had stood Kuei, face a mask of ghostly white as he alternated glances between the bloody blade and the corpse of the enemy.

"Are you alright, Captain Hakoda?"

Hakoda had nodded, awestruck, and Kuei had nodded as well.

"Good."

And the Earth King had fainted.

Looking back at it, Hakoda couldn't help but laugh as he responded to his son.

"I'm sure he's around somewhere. Probably up at the palace, looking around."

"Or at least at what's left of it. We did some serious damage here," Katara commented, looking back over her shoulder.

All three were quiet, until Katara continued to speak.

"Hey, Dad…"

"Hm?"

"I was thinking of where we should go next, you know, to settle stuff. Zuko told me he's going to send Kuei back to the Earth Kingdom with the decree and royal seal to withdraw the troops from Ba Sing Se, and I was thinking…"

She considered.

"…We should go up to the North Pole. Get them to sign a peace treaty as soon as possible. That way we'll have started building up alliances already."

"Sounds good to me," Sokka said, pulling out tightness in his back. A week of doing very little and he was already bored out of his skull. "I hate sitting around for too long. But what about Aang and Toph?"

Katara shook her head, looking slightly baffled. "Aang was telling me that he wanted to go look at the Western Air Temple with her."

"Wha? Why? Didn't it get destroyed along with all the others? Does he think he'll find something?"

Katara shrugged. "Even _he_ doesn't know why he wants to go. He says he just feels like…..like someone told him to."

"Fair enough."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

The funeral was quiet, small in scale. It was conducted in the central courtyard of the palace, among the delicate plants of the summertime, away from the eyes of the public. Zuko wanted them to hold it at midday, when the sun was at its most powerful. And of course, everyone was in white robes, pure snow white against the smoke of the funeral pyre.

Mai and Ty Lee, looking so peculiar when not garbed in shades of pink and red, stood side by side somberly. It was a confusing feeling, to mourn a childhood friend that you had grown to fear. Should it be relief, sorrow, or regret? Ty Lee did not know. But her father had always told her to never speak ill of the dead, and it was the least she could do to pay her respects.

Mai watched the smoke vanish into the summer day. Azula was probably glad, now. To leave this world with such a service, wrapped in the element that she controlled. Or perhaps it had controlled her, as Mai had come to believe.

"I think she's happy," Mai said flatly and dully. But that was just her way of expression.

Ty Lee smiled slightly.

"Yeah, probably."

Mai nodded.

She cast a glance over at the waterbender as she and Ty Lee turned to go. Back through the palace, out the gates of the capitol, across the sea, perhaps back to Omashu to carry news of the war's end.

The two young female warriors departed.

Which left the Avatar, Zuko and their companions there, on the stone terrace in the center of the palace.

A quiet, small service, missing the one person whom Azula had tried to please her whole life. A sad thing, when a father cannot attend his daughter's funeral.

Katara's eyes observed the flames dancing up higher like peacock's tails, the blue reflecting the red, with a sort of tightness in her throat that she had been unable to shake since she gained her victory over Azula.

She swallowed a few times, looking up at the beautiful sun in the cloudless blue sky, and promised Azula that she would come back and visit, visit the little monument Zuko wanted to have placed there for the deceased fire princess. And Katara would bring something practical with her every time, no flowers or nonsense like that. A nice dagger, Azula would like that. Maybe the waterbender would even sit and carry on a one-sided conversation, there in the warm gardens with the pond and the flowers, away from the world. She had not been able to befriend Azula in life, but perhaps she could do so in death.

And with a sort of plunging feeling, Katara remembered that she had forgotten to tell Zuko something.

She turned to where he was standing, posture arrow-straight as always, and tapped him lightly on the arm….although; perhaps it was best not to bother him now. After all, this was his sister's memorial service. The fire prince, once again the rightful heir to the throne, turned to her.

"What?"

"Zuko…Azula wanted me to tell you something. She asked me to, right before her…before..."

"What was it?" he asked, eyes returning to the fire.

_Deep breaths, Katara._

"That you were the stronger one. She admitted that you would have won against her, had you faced her in the end. She said it would make you happy if you knew."

Zuko was very silent as he let that sink in, as he thought of their fight: but not the one that had played out with blade and fire in the palace halls. He thought of Azula, the wildly clever, intimidating prodigy who had been his lifelong rival for both the upper hand in firebending and their father's love.

He always thought that Azula had won both of them long ago. So how could she say that he would have been victorious?

Azula, his sister.

The memories of moments of peace in her presence were few and far between, but they came back to him now and stung at the corners of his eyes.

His mother was dead now, along with his sister, and his father was imprisoned.

He had spent the past few years of his life on a fruitless mission, hunting down the world's last hope for peace, to thankfully fail at that.

He was ruler of a nation that would more than likely hate him and resist him, because things were never that simple.

And when he should feel such triumph, he did not.

To Zuko's horror, a few drops of moisture escaped the golden eyes, which he hurried to swipe away on the corner of the white robes.

But curse her, the waterbender had sharp eyes, and she noticed. Katara's face was one of mild shock as she discovered that Zuko was capable of crying.

Something pulled at her as she watched him, almost desperately, try to conceal the fact. But the meddlesome tears needed to fall, whether he wanted them to or not.

What was she supposed to do?

She merely let instinct tell her, as always, and she listened to it as she reached out to him.

_Thwump._

Zuko was speechless when the waterbender placed her arms around him and pulled him into an embrace, head against his heart as though she was trying to transfer the pain of his into her own. He let his arms hang at his sides for a moment, thoughts spinning through his head as he studied her short hair.

He had been right, in assuming she was the leader of the Avatar's group, the one who bound them together and supported them all: himself included, he now admitted. How could one heart hold so much? It was a mystery to him.

He had always thought that fire was the element of power, ferocity, and that water was the weak and docile one of the two elements. Until he realized that rocks, canyons, dams, homes, all eventually eroded before its strength. Water was what pushed or found a way around an obstacle and never gave up on where it was headed. The element of change, as Uncle Iroh had said. It was patient, but it was strong.

_Very much like her,_ he thought.

And she always had something to say, words carefully chosen, except in the times when actions spoke louder than words, that is.

Like right now, as she spoke to him through the arms encircling him.

The embrace offered him her sympathy, told him that she would be there if he needed her, gave away her want to protect him even if she knew he could look after himself, and expressed her wish to bear the pain herself. It was the sort of embrace he had not received in many, many years, which recalled the scent of roses and long, black hair.

Familiar, but different at the same time.

He felt as though something like that needed to be reciprocated.

And hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her as well and held them there, pulling her even closer, realizing that the tears were gone.

She smelled like something fairly plain, simple and fresh, the crisp clear smell of a cold, snowy night under the moon.

Katara's eyebrows rose considerably at his action, and a smile spread over her face.

It was an embrace that, strangely, spoke one abstract word into Zuko's mind. Perhaps in answer to the unspoken question, of how long she would be there for him like this. And the silent reply was, plainly and simply…

_Always._

Before Zuko could do or say anything else, a chipper voice came up from beside him. "Hey, no fair! Make room for me, Katara…"

And Zuko found a pair of arms wrapped around his neck as well, as awkward as it was. This caught the attention of the earthbender and Suki. Meathead stomped over and was forced into the gathering by Suki.

And not a few seconds later…

"What is this?!" the young fire prince shouted, back to his old, indignant self and trying to push the others away, listening to Katara laugh.

"It's called the group hug, Hothead. Get used to it," Toph replied frankly.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Jet! _Jet_!"

The young man let a mumble escape him as he was suddenly pummeled from the side, thankfully the side that didn't have the still-healing arrow wound in it. He dared to crack a dark eye open, to look into a pair of bright, lively green ones, directly over him.

He pressed into the pillow involuntarily to put a bit more space between them, but was yanked upwards an instant later.

"Jet, you won't believe it!!!" Jin shouted, dancing about the small room on her toes.

Outside of the tiny little inn that his companions had carried him to, Jet could hear the sounds of cheering in the streets. What had happened? It sounded like absolute, joyous bedlam, and he finally managed to shake off his fatigue to say, "What? What is it?"

The girl beamed even brighter at him.

"_The war is over_!" she shouted, throwing open the windows of the room even farther with a delightful laugh. The happiness was just overflowing in her, and she needed to give it a route to escape somehow.

The war is over.

Jet stopped and thought about that.

He really needed to, as he heard Smellerbee and Longshot crash past the door to his room, hurrying out into the streets to join the celebration.

_It was over?_

_How could that be?_

He asked her, and she turned from the window with her face and scruffy hair framed in the sunlight like a messy halo.

"It was the Avatar! The Avatar and a banished prince of the Fire Nation led a rebel army in and took the city! So now, the prince is going to be Fire Lord and he has declared the war over…why, troops are withdrawing as we speak!"

Jet blinked a few times.

"Really?"

It was all he could say. He had never really imagined peace. It was unfathomable, that after a hundred years it could suddenly end, as though he had woken up from a dream: he had always planned for his whole life to be an epic struggle, and now that had been knocked off course considerably.

The girl with the brilliant eyes and the simple, good heart smiled broader.

"Really."

And for a few moments, Jet decided not to worry about it. In a way, his mother and father could finally lay to rest. Maybe.

Jet took three wide steps forward and snatched Jin up with a laugh, the cheers down in the streets ringing in their ears as he swung her about once in the beams of the morning sun. His shoulder moaned in protest, but the girl's surprised laugh drowned it out.

And with that burst of happiness fulfilled, he set Jin down again and asked with a tilted head, "So what was the fire prince's name?"

Jin shrugged. She hadn't been told.

Jet continued to speak as they both hurried down to find Longshot and Smellerbee.

"Amazing, though. A worthwhile, decent firebender on the side of good, whose concern isn't only for himself."

He laughed and rolled his eyes before finishing the thought.

"Well, that's one thing I'm sure _I'll_ never meet."

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Zuko, hold still for a moment."

The firebender turned to her, eyes hinting at suspicion, when his dark hair was abruptly seized into an agile, strong brown hand and yanked backwards. He growled at her, shocked as to how the waterbender had managed to sneak up on him, but found his head released a moment later with the hair no longer dangling in his eyes or around his ears.

He reached a hand up to inspect it, arm moaning in protest as he did, and smoothed back a single stray hair that had always dangled over his forehead in his youth. The pale fingers traced over his hair and back to a short, smooth little knot of it gathered up in a gold band.

"Well, good to see you have the ponytail back," Katara smiled, hands on her hips as he looked him up and down.

Zuko's eyes narrowed in indignation before he spoke.

"It's not a _ponytail_: its proper name is a warrior's dragon tail."

The blue eyes widened.

"What did you just say?"

He wondered if she was hard of hearing, sometimes.

"I said, this is called a warrior's dragon tail."

Of course, he didn't understand why the girl broke down and screamed with laughter as soon as the words left his mouth, especially once her brother entered the room a moment later. Zuko only waited for her to compose herself and listened to her mirth.

He noted that it was not a light, lovely bell-like laughter, but a deep, hearty, practical one that would outlast everything else. And it did take some time to quiet down, during which he surveyed her, seeing how she had prepared herself for this occasion.

The short hair was still a shock to look at, with the wavy mahogany locks cropped so close and feathery that it reminded him of the state his own hair had been, back when he was living in Ba Sing Se. Although, not quite so masculine in its shape. The girl, in her determination, had managed to pull a few shell beads onto random strands of it, and had substituted what her brother referred to as her "hair-loopy-thingies" for a pair of long, blue river stone earrings that swung lazily when she turned her head.

Swung around and caught the light, just as her necklace did.

He realized that the laughter had stopped, and he was still looking at her.

Sokka, looking over at them both, let surprise walk across his features before turning back to Suki.

Katara raised an eyebrow once she noticed Zuko had not said anything during her outburst, and was able to survey him for herself as she picked up something from the table beside them. The murmur of a crowd just beyond the wall was making him fidget considerably, and she reached out to hesitantly pat a red-robed arm.

It was almost funny, actually, how much those regal robes filled him out and made him appear taller: the combination of the blood red, the scar, and the golden eyes? He would certainly make a very intimidating monarch to deal with in the future.

She smiled at him, with eyes that were lined with just a hint more sadness and maturity. But only a hint.

"Hey, here you guys are! Are we going to get on with this or what?"

Katara turned to see Toph trudge in, in the midst of pulling one braid tighter by an emerald ribbon. For some reason, Toph had suddenly taken to wearing her hair in braids. Or, preferably, out and loose on her shoulders. Katara thought she had some idea of why, but couldn't think about it without smiling widely and laughing. And Toph liked to keep her business to herself, so she hadn't asked.

Katara just decided to kick back and wait for the delightful day that her "little sister" approached her about it.

Aang was shortly behind Toph, awkwardly clasping the collar of his own red robes as he did. The warm ensemble made the blue tattoos seem extremely out of place, but the Avatar seemed unconcerned. What did concern him, though, was that the cloth was clinging together and would not hang properly.

"I keep shocking myself," he grumbled, demonstrating by extending a hand out to Sokka and tapping him. The spark of electricity leapt the distance and Sokka jumped. "Ever since you threw that lightning at me…"

Zuko shrugged. "It worked, didn't it? You were able to redirect it."

"Wish I'd been expecting it."

The prince did not know what to say, but he had to marvel at the fact that he had managed to conjure lightning at that moment. What had he been doing differently?

_Protecting others, that's what._

And the prince sighed, looked at the small party as they stood behind the doors and awaited one more to arrive.

A moment later, he did.

"Ah, good. Ready?"

"Yes, Uncle."

"Well, then, go on."

Taking another large breath, Zuko pushed the doors apart, straightened his spine, and took the long, few, silent strides out onto the stone steps to stand before the Fire Nation palace, before the city that was being repaired. The fissure had been closed, as it had been opened, by Toph, once the fires had been quenched.

But it was still in pitiful shape, and the people assembled there looked very, very weary, the whole crowd held in silence as the prince and his companions walked out.

Zuko opened his mouth, faltered. Took another breath, and then froze completely. What was there to say? He had so much work ahead of him, and he could see it laid before him now.

100 years worth of conflict and destruction does not vanish overnight. Neither do the feelings behind the war, the divisions among the nations. There would be meetings, peace treaties, withdrawal of militant forces, and resistance against his rule, repairs and rebuilding.

It was all rather crushing, upon his shoulders, as he looked out at the silent crowd and the ruins of his home.

And then he felt a hand, rough on the fingers but smooth in the palm, grab his own tightly from the left. By the hand this time, not around the wrist, because the fire prince needed it that much more.

Their fingers only locked for a few seconds, enough time for her to clench it, to give a message of encouragement, before she let it go.

He looked beside him at Katara, and she mouthed to him, _"Don't worry, we're here."_

He swallowed and nodded.

"People of the Fire Nation," he found the voice to shout, "These past 100 years have been ones of suffering, unrest and turmoil. There have been many graves dug that were not needed, and many suffered who had done nothing to warrant it. And I regret all of it I truly do."

He blinked, searching for anything left to say in his dry throat.

"My father has surrendered this city into my hands, and in my hands, I will make efforts to rebuild it. I can only hope that this can begin a different chapter in our people's history."

No, there was nothing more to say now. And there was a slight murmur in the crowd, some nods of the head, some shakes, but there was no applause. Zuko had not been expecting any, nor did he wish for it.

And he stiffened his back yet again, pulled up to full height, and then slowly dropped to his knees.

There was a soft rushing of air as the torches along the palace walls were lit, and the flame crown caught the light of the sun and the fire as it was lowered onto Zuko's head, fixing in the small gathering of dark hair that Katara had been sure to arrange.

A strange mix of emotions mulled together in Zuko's spirit as his uncle called out, in a much deeper and robust tone:

"All hail, Fire Lord Zuko."

Like wheat swaying in the wind, the people bowed low before their new ruler, eyes down to the ground. A hush was over the gathering, the red banners fluttering in the wind, as the young Fire Lord reflected. And then something suddenly irked him.

Zuko looked over at his friends, and then reached across to Aang and jerked him upright by the back of his shirt.

"Don't bow down to me," he ordered simply. "As far as I'm concerned, it is you they are bowing to."

A pause, and Aang's eyes widened. Who was this guy, really? This was Zuko's moment of glory, when he finally got back his "honor" (which, frankly, never made much sense to Aang) and he was willing to give it away.

Zuko pointed to his friends, who had stooped their heads as well to go along with the coronation ceremony.

"And tell everybody else to stand up straight too. I won't have groveling."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: _STAY IN TOUCH FOR THE EPILOUGE!!!!!!!_**

**Wow, this chapter was pure shipping madness.**

**Hahaha, prepare for the author's note of DOOM in which I answer/explain stuff.**

**Okay, first off, I hope that the beginning of the chapter answered Guardian of Atlantis's question of the who/why in regards to the spirits. (There are spirits and demons in Asian folklore, but I suppose that they aren't in this context, of being responsible for human sins.) I basically took the idea of the little shoulder devil and magnified it into something major. Why cause a war? Because they're evil and want to do as much damage as possible to humankind, basically. I know it had religious overtones, but I hope that didn't turn anyone off. If you want, you can just see it as fantasy. **

**Second, there have been some reasonable questions about Aang bending oil. And you're all totally right: oil has absolutely no water in it. So, why could Aang bend it? Ah, I thought this would be neat to see on the show….Because while no oils contain water, some do contain traces of earth. Shale oil, for example, is derived from rocks rich in kerogen that have been heated to 445-500 degrees (not hard for the Fire Nation!). Oil shale itself is a rock that has been burned for fuel since ancient times, along with coal. So while Aang used waterbending technique, he was actually earthbending, combining two bending styles. I dunno if that makes much sense, or how scientifically correct it is, but I went with it. Besides, how awesome would it be to see Toph bend flaming oil? **

**Umm…third, where did Azula learn to use the Dao swords? Well, we all know that whatever Zuko had, Azula had more and better of. So if he was taught it (presumably before his exile, because you don't master a weapon like that in a couple of years), then Azula would have probably learned as well.**

**Zuko shot the lightning at Aang so that Aang could redirect it and counter Ozai's lightning. **

**I apologize for any canon errors that I may have made, and I'm very glad that people were able to enjoy the story anyway.**

**Love you all, thanks for reading and reviewing, once again. Yay for 55,000 hits and 550 reviews! **


	41. Epilouge

**Holy carp (intentional typo) LAST CHAPTER!! I don't own Avatar, but I eagerly await the real Season 3. So there! **

**I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for making this a success, and I hope that I can continue to please with future fan fiction. Oh, remember the end of Chapter 18? It may help you to go back and read that, in case you don't remember that last part of it.**

**Oh, and note that while Aang is the last airbender, they never said that he's the last Air Nomad, now did they?**

**Anyway, readers, I present to you….the epilogue!!!**

Epilogue

The temple was in ruins, as Aang had expected it to be. The ancient stones, warmed by the late summer sun, touched lightly with his small feet as he walked through, each step taken by Toph or himself reflecting a million times over through the mountain valleys.

The Western Air Temple really was lovely, though, as overgrown as it was.

The native plants of the Fire Nation mixed with wind lilies and Earth Kingdom blossom trees, whistling in the soft breeze. The vines had long wrapped themselves around every sun-bleached pillar and break in the architecture, which was still magnificent after a century of erosion.

Aang tried to be as quiet as possible. He felt as though the noise would break something fragile, the peace settled over this place like blown glass and not wanting to wake whatever ghosts still hung around. Even Appa did not snort or grunt, only sat down quietly with Momo to wait for his friend to finish his business.

The little earthbender, however, had no such feelings.

Toph strode over, pushing an ebony braid off her shoulder, and quickly knelt with one hand splayed against the old stones, her conscious prodding off through the bloodline of the earth and stone.

"Hmm. This place is pretty big. Sounds like there are some rooms still intact in that one building over there."

She pointed one arm out, to the toppling main temple that slumped among the vegetation which Appa was quietly beginning to chew.

"Great, let's go."

Aang pulled her forward as they went.

It had been two months since the battle with Ozai, three weeks since they departed from the Fire Nation capitol on this strange, impulsive little mission. Why had he wanted to come here in the first place, again? Aang didn't recall, clearly. It must have had something to do with dying for those few minutes, as he faintly recalled a conversation of some kind. Odd how his only clear memory was Toph's voice calling him back.

His thoughts switched quickly back to his friends.

He had left, apprehensive of leaving things in the state they were in, but he had been reassured. Zuko could take it from there. Katara, Sokka and Suki had left as well, bound for the North Pole once again with a whole sack of documents to be read and signed, bonds and ties to be re-constructed.

It was hard, surprisingly hard, to be away from his family, but he had promised Katara that he would come to see her when the autumn season began. Just in time for his birthday, actually.

He looked forward to it, and with a smile, walked forward into the crumbling temple.

The smile faded slightly.

Upon entering, he decided that he would never get quite used to the sight, and to the realization that he was alone in the world, in one sense.

Wedges of dusty white sunlight filtered in through the ruins, a few scars from blasts of fire decorating the floor. The black marks obscured the masterful art that had been carefully painted on the floor of the hall, some depiction of a great airbender among the clouds. He noticed a toppled statue, a rusting sword, scraps and remnants of what looked like quite a battle.

He sighed shakily.

Maybe coming here had not been such a good idea after all.

Aang looked back at Toph, who had plucked a brilliant blue flower that grew on a climbing vine and stuck her nose into its petals. Hmm, didn't smell too good.

She turned and followed Aang.

He looked to the left and right as he walked gently down the temple hall, into the area that branched off into the old studies, the meditation rooms, some with the doorways collapsed and inaccessible.

Far down the valley somewhere, an unidentifiable bird sounded off, a long and echoing whistle that reverberated through the stones of the Western Air Temple.

Aang looked into the shadowy hall, and was suddenly compelled to do something very odd.

What….

Should he?

Well, why not?

Yes, why not….

The Avatar, slowly and hesitantly, extended his arm out, turned the palm upward as though waiting for someone to take it.

And take it, they did.

Well, not really, but Aang felt as though something that was not entirely _him_ jerked him forward, stumbling to keep his feet under him as he ran down the hall with Toph in hot pursuit.

Not this door, not this one…there!

As quickly as he had started moving, Aang ground to a halt and felt Toph's small body smack against his with an irritated grunt.

"Twinkletoes, what's going on….?"

"Shhhhh," he said. Funny, Aang telling Toph that. But he would savor the humor at some later point in time.

But as for now….

Aang stepped into the room he had been brought to, with its window somehow still intact. Sunlight wriggled in through the grime on the rough glass, the window which faced north.

It was a study of some kind, with ancient, spider-web thin scrolls tumbled from their shelves and strewn about the place.

Some were burnt, others torn up terribly as though ripped up by some wild beast.

A faded Air Nomad banner decorated the wall, but everything else was shelves, although one had long fallen over.

Aang walked farther in, stepping forward and picking up each scroll delicately.

No, it wasn't this one.

He could tell without even reading its faded markings: some sort of gut instinct told him so, and placed it on the shelf where it belonged.

_Wasn't what_? He asked himself.

_You'll find out when you find out_.

"What, are we playing librarian now?" he heard Toph say, if only to break the silence. It's not as though she could help him, at this in particular.

He smiled at her, the marvel that she was, and shook his head. "Nah, I'll only be a second. You can help me put these back onto the shelves, though."

"Why?"

"The monks always liked things in a certain order. I'm sure the Western Air Temple sisters would want it no different." He put the next scroll onto the shelf, rolled up another, then another, wondering at himself.

Slowly, the pile deteriorated as the two benders gathered everything up, placing things back, Aang opening each one to skim it before doing so.

He bent down to retrieve another scroll, and something jerked inside him.

_That's it_ a voice whispered into his ear excitedly.

What was _it_?

He hesitated, if only for a moment of pure apprehension.

Aang rolled open the scroll, squinting at the characters that had long since begun to fade. But somehow, perhaps by a stroke of luck, this one was not so damaged as all the others. He struggled to read it, the blurry but refined hand, and Toph heard him muttering. She walked over, placed her chin on his shoulder as though she was actually reading the scroll.

He was very quiet, his heart racing all of a sudden, and Toph felt the odd need to hold her breath.

And as Aang read, his eyes grew wide.

_Each day the clouds gather, I can feel it. It's odd, how we have all expected this for so long, how many have seen this battle written in the stars, and yet how it shocks us all. _

_Trust a firebender to get notions into his head like this. And here is the world on the eve of battle, all with one held breath as the armies gather. I don't know where the first strike will fall, nor what Fire Lord Sozin intends on doing once the first move is made. I should be frightened, but I knew this was going to happen. I have known for twelve years now._

_Some have fled the temples, aboard the flying bison, and Tam is beginning to tell me that we should have followed suit. It was only our Nomad brothers and sisters, there were no airbenders among them: they said they were bound for the mountains of the Earth Kingdom. Those are so vast and so empty, that if they do hide there to wait out this war, I can imagine that one could search a hundred years and never find them. The Han Mountains, Sana told me. I wish her the best of fortunes, but I know were my place is. _

_I will not turn and run. It just isn't in my blood, as I have told my husband time and time again. _

_I knew this would happen, I will say it again. The Avatar always comes at a time soon before he or she is needed: that is the workings of the spirits, surely. And I have done my part in it. I can so clearly recall what that strange woman told me, that I would have a child, against the odds, that would one day banish the darkness and quench the flames, deliver this world._

_I can only hope that my son is well, and that he is being watched over now. He will do great things, I am sure of it. I was sure of it before he was born, in a way. And even if I was able to see my Aang's face for so short a time, I hold him in my heart twelve years on._

_And if it should come to a final battle, if the Fire Nation does indeed come to this place, it is for my son that I will stand and fight. If he needs to be strong, then I as his mother_ _should be as well. It is the least I can do, for love of my child and for this world, however fragile its peace is._

_Ah, Aang, I wish you the best. You give your old mother some peace of mind in these times._

_**-Aya of the Air Nomads.**_

Aang's mind was fuzzy around the edges, shocked and numb, barely intact to speak. He was desperately trying not to wet the precious parchment with the tears that had sprouted up into his eyes as he turned to Toph.

"Toph…"

"What, Twinkletoes?" she questioned, sounding perplexed as she offered him a rough piece of cloth from her bag to wipe up the tears that oddly splashed onto her hand.

Twinkltoes sniffled, and there was laughter, so much happiness, in his voice as he spoke.

"Up for a trip to the Earth Kingdom?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Ozai."

The voice called into the dark cell, bouncing around the walls and coming back to the man who had spoken: the response was a rattling of chains and nothing more.

The Dragon of the West sighed, leaning his back against the adjacent wall to continue what he had to say. He knew that Zuko would not be able to do this, and had gladly taken up the task for him.

After all, he knew his brother far better than anyone else. He had known him inside out since the day he, as a young and ignorant prince, had leaned over his new brother and looked into those dark eyes for the first time.

Iroh sighed and cleared his throat.

"I have spoken with Zuko on the matter of what is to be done with you. Have been debating it for a while, sorry to keep you waiting."

There was a gruff, throaty sound somewhere between a snort and growl.

Iroh shrugged.

"Now, frankly, I thought it best to leave you down here, to get a full appreciation for the life of a prisoner that you have led so many people to live. Honestly, I was planning on it. And wouldn't you know, your son spoke on your behalf!"

Iroh knew the boy was good at heart. It still amazed him how Ozai could have sired the present Fire Lord, how such compassion could have been passed into Zuko.

No use thinking about it now.

"And wouldn't you know? He says we should banish you."

When an actual reply came, voice harsh from disuse, it was with a raspy fury.

"What?"

Iroh shook off the surprise of hearing his brother speak, but continued.

"Yes. Since the life of an outcast was suitable for your firstborn, then I am sure that it will be suitable to you. Granted, I will have to do some research, something to block up your chakra…can't have a powerful firebender loose, after all…"

"Ah, and leave your brother defenseless? Cruel, Iroh," Ozai said lightly, a mix of bitter sarcasm and anger.

"Others manage."

"And why would you let me free? I'm sure you realize that I'll be back for you. The soldiers are still loyal to me…"

"Ah, I have to disagree," Iroh interrupted, finally looking into the dark cell. Now a palm-full of flame was hovering in the far corner, highlighting the former Fire Lord's face in a shadowy, haunted manner. His cheeks had grown hollow, his powerful frame shrunken and emaciated, but he was still intimidating. He was still Ozai.

Iroh was never a man to be intimidated, as he continued.

"You see, the people of the Fire Nation follow the crown, not the one who wears it. Blind Patriotism, you could say. And, as I can recall, that crown now sits upon the head of your firstborn son. The people have wanted this war to be over for some time now: everything else in this once-great nation has fallen into neglect in the meanwhile. No more graves to dig, Ozai."

Iroh smiled broadly at his brother, who only matched it with a glare. Iroh kept speaking, at the ready should the Fire Lord strike out at him suddenly.

But all of the fighting spirit seemed to have escaped his brother during his imprisonment, oddly enough.

"After all, you are the former Lord Ozai. There isn't a man or woman between the shores of the Earth Kingdom to Ba Sing Se who wouldn't like to see you dead. And I think the Earth Kingdom is an excellent territory for nomadic roaming: trust me from firsthand experience. And if you do stir up trouble, then the least we can do is put a good bounty on your head. I'm sure that any Fire Nation solider will cave for a hefty reward."

He let that sink in to his brother, awaiting his Ozai's response.

There was none. And the flame had gone out.

Iroh nodded, and turned to go.

"He grew stronger," came the rough voice.

Iroh turned back, hesitating before replying to this man, this cruel man who was at last defeated, this brother of his.

"Yes. Zuko never ceases to amaze me. You never realized what a treasure you had, brother."

"Hm."

"And it was odd, what with all the cold ambition that runs in this family, that all he wanted was your respect. He wanted you to look upon him as worthy, as a true member of the royal family worthy of the throne, and you never did. How ironic, that in the end he bested you."

There was no sound from Ozai. As hard as Iroh squinted into the dark, he could no longer see the outline of the man, who had pulled back into the shadows completely. Then, finally….

"Why, I wonder?"

"Why what?" Iroh asked, gray brows knitting together.

"Why couldn't I? Why could I not kill him, in the end? It haunts me; it claws at me, that moment. I'm sure it will hound me until the day I die."

Iroh shrugged.

"Perhaps it is not so impossible for you to have sired him after all." He paused. "I'm sure Ursa is proud of him."

The comment was more to himself and his thoughts as he turned to go once again, with the common Fire Nation parting, saluting as he did and speaking it pointedly with a smile.

"Hail Fire Lord Zuko."

And as Iroh, the Dragon of the West, departed, he heard one last thing called out to him from Ozai's cell. The voice was still rough, but it sounded strangely broken in pitch as it was said.

"Hail Fire Lord Zuko."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Fire Lord was, several days later, sitting at his desk, reading a laborious document that would place the expenses of the war, from the Earth Kingdom, upon the already depleted Fire Nation's economy. He sighed loudly, shuffling in the robes he wore, until he placed it down and stood up.

The door squeaked open.

His uncle walked in, a tray of tea held in one hand, and he turned past the desk to throw open the window of the stuffy room into the late summer morning. The progress on the city was moving faster now, the ocean glinting in the corner of the scenery, and a slow breeze ruffled the papers on Zuko's desk.

He snatched them up quickly and walked over to join his uncle, trying to shake off the odd weight that had been pressing upon him for some time now.

Since they had left, coincidentally.

It felt like there was a space missing somehow.

But his duty was to his country, after all.

"Good morning, uncle."

"Ah, good to see you, Fire Lord Zuko," Iroh said in reply, handing him the cup of jasmine with a smile. He much enjoyed the sound of the title and the mixture of emotions it prompted in his nephew.

Zuko nodded, moving to take a sip of the hot tea. He had missed it, in some way. Katara's tea every morning, he missed that too, but he pushed the thought down before it had a chance to rise any farther.

"And how are you doing?" his uncle continued, moving to sit in a second chair as Zuko returned to his work.

"Admittedly, I have been better," Zuko replied flatly.

"I see."

"Hmpf."

The young Fire Lord shrugged, resting his chin in his palm in a strangely undignified way that had suddenly become a habit as he read. That was what happened when you traveled with peasants for so long, he supposed.

Oh well.

"So, how long had it been since they left, again? It seems so much quieter without them around…particularly Master Sokka," Iroh grinned. "And Miss Toph certainly knows how to be loud, if need be."

Zuko waited before responding, counting back the weeks.

"About a month, I would say. I haven't bothered to keep track."

In a way, he had thought it was best that they had left when they did…particularly Katara. Yes, for the best.

He had not liked the way that her voice seemed to stick in his head, how he had started noticing the different shades of blue that mixed in her eyes, the warmth of her smile.

Another great sigh and he plodded on through the dull letter. How much had been written, in this scrawled hand?

"Hmm. Do you care for them, Zuko?"

The molten gold eyes flashed upwards, a perfect match for the crown that sat upon his head as he looked at his uncle once again. His dark hair had grown longer still, now able to wear it back in a proper dragon's tail as he had before his banishment, and it held the crown in place.

"I don't know what you are talking about, uncle."

"Care for them. I know it was not something you had intended to do, but sometimes things in life are unexpected, I suppose."

"I suppose," Zuko echoed. He knew what his uncle was really asking, and he did not enjoy the prodding... even if it was from the man that he had come to realize had truly been his father all these years.

"Ah, you suppose."

Iroh looked down into the tea, pushing a pulse of fire into it that warmed it up a bit.

"Do you remember what I asked you, Zuko? Beneath Lake Laogai?"

Zuko swallowed and shook his head.

So much had happened between that time and now.

A lifetime had occurred. He could look back at this window in his life until he reached old age, and he would never fully understand what had happened to him in the company of the Avatar. Maybe it was not meant to be understood.

Iroh answered for his nephew.

"I told you that you needed to ask yourself the big questions. You needed to ask yourself who you were…."

Zuko nodded slowly.

"…and what you wanted. Just you. Just Zuko."

The Fire Lord thought.

Who was he? He was a mess of things, really. A son of fire, a member of the royal family, the ruler of his country that had before been lost to him.

He was a friend of the Avatar, for lack of a better word. He was someone who kept going even though it was hard, and he carried a mark of honor upon his face to remind him of that.

Because, as Katara had said, that was what it was.

He was Zuko.

It would take some time to figure out in whole, but it was a start. He was no longer lost and wandering, he knew that much.

But what did he _want_?

What did he want, now, with his life?

Why did it feel so incomplete, sitting here?

What did he want?

Zuko stared down at his hands, and then rose up with an agitated sigh, pushing past his uncle and leaving the room, throwing up his arms as though in surrender.

Iroh sighed, rather sadly, as well, and picked up the scroll his nephew had been reading. It was frightfully boring in flow and language, not to mention it exhibited a sloppy hand as Iroh observed it.

Hmm, he wondered if there was any tea left in the pot. Ah, yes, there was. Lovely.

He sat there for a long while, reading and enjoying his tea.

As Iroh poured himself another cup, the door opened behind him, and he turned.

A brow rose at what he saw.

And there was Zuko, having shed the lavish robes and crown in favor of the plain armor, the simple bronze crown fixed in his hair as he walked in hurriedly, snatching up scrolls into a small traveling sack.

"Uncle, I need you to look after things for a short while. And I'll need a ship. Something small, something fast. Just a few crew members, I don't want to drag too many from their homes now."

He paused, looking down at the scrolls and pulling one open to skim it before tossing it aside.

"Going somewhere, Fire Lord Zuko?"

Zuko strode past his uncle once again, and a second before the door shut in his wake, Iroh heard his voice, filled suddenly with new life and happiness.

"The North Pole."

"Ah," Iroh laughed.

And the Dragon of the West turned his head to look out the window, listening to his nephew's footsteps fade, at the sun and the sky over the city, the scent of late summer drifting in as he did. He smiled, and sipped his tea again.

"That's my boy," he laughed softly.

"That's my boy."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: TBC?**


End file.
